Duterte arrives in Japan after softening comments on ‘separation’ from U.S

Duterte arrives in Japan after softening comments on ‘separation’ from U.S

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Japan late Tuesday for a three-day visit in which his hostile rhetoric toward the United States is expected to be a key issue.

Amid concern in Japan about Manila’s apparent pivot away from Washington and toward China, Duterte on the eve of his visit softened his remarks about a “separation” from its longtime ally, the U.S.

“The alliances are alive,” Duterte said in an interview with Japanese media outlets Monday in Manila. “There should be no worry about changes of alliances. I do not need to have alliances with other nations.”

The remarks will be welcomed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who wants to keep ties with the Philippines tight.

Duterte jolted the region last week during a visit to China when he announced a realignment toward Beijing, the latest in a series of outbursts against the U.S.

Duterte and his aides later tried to clarify that he did not mean he was cutting ties with the U.S. and his remarks Monday were the most conciliatory yet.

After arriving in Japan, Duterte again ranted against the U.S., calling Washington a “bully” for chastising him over his war on drugs.

“The Americans are really a bully,” Duterte told a large gathering of Filipinos living in Japan.

He called it “demeaning” for Washington to hint at slashing aid and assistance to his country on human rights grounds, and said: “You can have it. It’s all yours. We will survive.”

The populist leader said he is willing to be imprisoned in the future over his crackdown on drug sellers and addicts, which critics say has led to hundreds, if not thousands, of extrajudicial killings.

“If you have the evidence, go ahead and file the case,” he said. “I can rot in prison for my country.”

The “naked truth,” he said, is that the Philippines was becoming a nation of drug addicts, with 4 million of them spread out all over the country, and “I have to do something.”

“What am I supposed to do with 4 million?” he asked.

Duterte said progressive countries in the West have no right to “chastise” and “reprimand” him for just doing his job to protect future generations of Filipinos, calling that “insulting.”

“Do not —— with our dignity,” he said. “I carry the burden of sovereignty.”

Philippine officials later downplayed his remarks.

Ahead of his arrival in Japan, Duterte told Japanese media he had been expressing a personal opinion, not speaking for the government, when he mentioned separating from Washington, the Nikkei financial newspaper said. He said he only plans to have an “alliance of trade and commerce” with China.

The Yomiuri Shimbun, however, said Duterte repeated that he wants to halt joint military exercises with the U.S. and end a military cooperation pact seen as crucial to projecting U.S. power in Asia in the face of a fast-rising China.

Abe has sought to strengthen ties with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries as a counterbalance to Beijing.

“It’s certainly unfortunate and we are worried, but such things will not change Japan’s commitment to the Philippines,” said Narushige Michishita, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and former defense official, referring to Duterte’s comments.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, after talking to his Philippine counterpart on Sunday, is confident the two countries can “work through” a period of confusion caused by Duterte’s remarks, the State Department said.

Duterte has railed against U.S. expressions of concern about the high loss of life in his campaign against drugs and Washington’s calls for due process.

Japanese officials said Abe will not overtly try to mediate between Tokyo and Washington, but he will probably explain the importance of the U.S. role in the region.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met Duterte Tuesday for a low-key dinner, and Abe will hold rare one-on-one talks with him at his residence in Tokyo on Wednesday evening following a larger, more formal meeting with senior officials.

“I believe ties between Japan and the Philippines are very important and that seeking to stabilize bilateral ties will lead straight to peace, stability and prosperity of the region as well as of the international community,” Kishida told reporters.

He added he wants to listen carefully to Duterte’s views.

Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, angered China by lodging a case with an international court of arbitration in The Hague challenging the legitimacy of Beijing’s maritime claims in the South China Sea.

A ruling in July emphatically favored Manila but was rejected by China, which has repeatedly warned the U.S. and Japan to stay out of the dispute.

Duterte said the two countries had agreed not to discuss the international court’s ruling on his initial visit to Japan, but he will have to talk about it at some point, the Nikkei reported.

But even as Duterte rejects joint military exercises with the U.S., Japan’s plan to aid the Philippine coast guard aid could prove essential in the longer term, said Yuki Tatsumi, a senior associate of the East Asia program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.

“While some will undoubtedly point to Japan’s gift of patrol vessels and planned loan of aircraft as mistakes, they offer the capability the Philippines needs,” if tensions with China rise again, Tatsumi said. “Japan needs to stay as the Philippines’ ‘friend in need’ especially now that it does look like U.S.-Filipino relations will be strained, at least at the leadership level.”

Outside of defense discussions, Duterte said he will pursue economic cooperation agreements.

“As you can see, no nation has developed faster without railways,” the Philippine leader said, referring to a possible area of economic cooperation.

He added that there are challenges in building large-scale railway projects in the Philippines considering the six-year term limit of the presidency.

Duterte’s visit from Tuesday through Thursday, his first to Japan since taking office in June, follows his four-day trip to China last week.

The Philippines and China agreed Friday to exercise self-restraint in the South China Sea and hold regular bilateral dialogue on maritime issues.

With Duterte’s hostile rhetoric toward Washington followed by deals between the Philippines and China worth roughly ¥1.4 trillion $13.5 billion, Abe hopes to find out where the Philippine leader’s sentiment lies.

“It’s a golden opportunity for the Japanese government to convince the Philippine president that continuing to do this will be bad for him,” said Kunihiko Miyake, a former Japanese diplomat and now visiting professor at Ritsumeikan University. “He won’t listen to the Americans, but he might listen to the Japanese.”

Duterte has made a habit of hurling sharp, even profane, verbal barbs at the U.S. and President Barack Obama, which resulted in Washington canceling talks between them at an ASEAN summit last month.

According to the Philippine Foreign Ministry, Abe and Duterte are in the process of planning to release a joint statement at their meeting.

Duterte is scheduled to meet Emperor Akihito on Thursday, and hold talks with Japan International Cooperation Agency President Shinichi Kitaoka at some point during the trip, the ministry said.

Abe is also expected to announce ¥5 billion in loans for agricultural development in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, where Duterte served as a longtime mayor of Davao City.