DESPITE President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement that he wants to separate from the US both in military and economic aspects, the US wants to continue its friendship with the Philippines and is “committed to this relationship.”
“From our point of view we are not suing for divorce,” outgoing US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg on Friday said in a chance interview.
“We want to continue this relationship, we’re committed to this relationship, and we’re committed to the alliance between the two countries, that’s what we want,” he pointed out.
However, he said his government is asking for clarification on the recent statement made by President Rodrigo R. Duterte during his visit to China that he wants “economic separation” from the US.
“Well, I think we need clarifications about what the President [Duterte] has said while he was in China, quite frankly, I don’t know what he means by separation, I don’t know what he means by economic separation either, our two economies, like the world economy are very much linked,” he said.
“I don’t know what the process is, I don’t know what the goal and objective is, all I know is what I hear and not what I see, because what I see is that we’re still working very much, with our Philippine colleagues and in fact have very good relationship,” he added.
The chief US envoy to the Philippines noted that they are “going through a period of uncertainty” that they need to figure out.
President Duterte announced his “separation” from the United States both in military and economic aspects before Chinese and government officials.
US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel will be visitng Manila to seek an explanation from the government what Duterte meant by his separation from the country’s top trading partner and long-time ally, the State Department said.
In a press briefing in Washington D.C., State Department spokesman John Kirby also admitted that they were surprised at Duterte’s announcement when he was in Beijing.
“We are going to be seeking an explanation of exactly what the President meant when he talked about separation from the US. It’s not clear to us exactly what that means in all its ramifications, so we’re going to be seeking a clarification on that,” Kirby said.
“Did we know that was coming? No, we didn’t know that was coming,” Kirby admitted.
He also said that the American government is puzzled by Duterte’s announcement.
“But this is yet another string in some pretty strong rhetoric that we think, we believe, is at odds with the kind of relationship that we have had and continue to have with the Filipino people,” Kirby said.
Kirby said Russel’s official visit has been a long-scheduled to visit the Philippines “to try to get better explanation of what was meant by “separation” and where that is going.
Kirby said, Russel may arrive this Sunday and leave on Monday.
“It isn’t just the United States that is baffled by this rhetoric,” Kirby admitted.
“We have heard from many of our friends and partners in the region who are likewise confused about where this is going,” he added.
The US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg said in another television interview over GMA-7 that Duterte’s earlier’s announcement caused “uncertainty.”
“We’re going through a period of uncertainty that we need to figure out,” Goldberg said.
While admitting that Duterte’s fresh rhetoric iS “troubling,” US Embassy press attaché Molly Koscina said they have yet to receive any official notice from the Philippines.
“We’ve seen a lot of this sort of troubling rhetoric recently which is inexplicably at odds with the warm relationship that exists between the Filipino and American people and the record of important cooperation between our two governments,” she said.
“We have yet to hear from the Philippine government what Duterte’s remarks on “separation” might mean but it is creating unnecessary uncertainty,” she added.
Koscina further explained that Russel will be sitting down with his Philippine counterparts to discuss the broad scope of both countries’ relationship.
The three officials, Kirby, Goldberg and Koscina said that the United States will remain committed to the 70-year-old relationship with the Philippines.
“For our part, we will honor our alliance commitments and treaty obligations. And of course, we expect the Philippines to do the same,” Koscina said.
The US-Philippines alliance is built on a 70-year history, rich people-to-people ties, including a vibrant Filipino-American diaspora, and a long list of shared security concerns, Koscina said.
“We have full confidence in the strong ties that connect our peoples and countries, including record levels of trade, investment, and remittances,” Koscina said.
She added that the US will continue to focus on its broad relationship with the Philippines.
“And will work together in the many areas of mutual interest to improve the livelihoods of the Philippine people and uphold our shared democratic values,” she said.