Duterte on Historic China Visit: Time to Goodbye US
Local Editor
It's "time to say goodbye" to the United States, said Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on a visit to China, where he and President Xi Jinping are turning the recently-frosty tide with bilateral agreements, while Washington now gets the cold shoulder.
Duterte spoke to the press in Beijing on Wednesday, on the eve of talks with Xi. There was scant information about what was to come on Thursday, but Duterte's conference coincided with talk of unprecedented agreements being written up - particularly the granting to the Philippines the use of Scarborough Shoal territories - a disputed resource-rich area in the South China Sea.
The firebrand Duterte has been slowly edging away from Washington after coming to power in late June. A series of spats and heated remarks finally resulted in his making good on the promise to mend ties with historic rival, China.
"Your stay in my country was for your own benefit. So time to say goodbye, my friend," Duterte said, as members of the Filipino expat community in Beijing listened in the audience. He was of course referring to the military presence enjoyed by Washington at a number of Filipino bases - something he's been particularly vocal against since September.
"No more American interference. No more American exercises." he told the audience.
US-Philippines relations have been in a death spiral ever since the Obama administration started voicing concern over Duterte's tactics in dealing with drug crime.
Manila didn't like Washington's stance one bit, and Duterte issued a series of fiery remarks warning Obama to stay out of it and stop dictating Philippines policy.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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