© Getty ImagesChina's President Xi Jinping and Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte shaking hands.
"I've realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to [President Vladimir] Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world - China, Philippines, and Russia. It's the only way," President Duterte said, much to the chagrin of the U.S. empire.
The Russian ambassador to the Philippines, Igor Khovaev, responded in turn: "Formulate your wish list. What kind of assistance do you expect from Russia and we will be ready to sit down with you and discuss what can and should be done." Possibly alluding to the rising problems of terrorism in the Philippines, Khovaev extended the offer of help to "any area, any field of possible cooperation."
State Department spokesman John Kirby said Duterte's statements were "inexplicably at odds with the very close relationship we have with the Filipino people as well as the government there on many different levels, not just from a security perspective."
"It isn't just the United States that is baffled by this rhetoric," Kirby said. "We have heard from many of our friends and partners in the region who are likewise confused about where this is going." Kirby, confused? Imagine my shock!
The countries in the U.S.'s Southeast Asian harem aren't 'confused', they just haven't come up with a viable strategy to escape. Or, they are ruled by puppet madams who continue to do the will of the Empire. Such a separation is only confusing for megalomaniacal control freaks who can't understand why anyone wouldn't want to be gaslighted, dominated, abused and exploited under their awesome rule.
In keeping up with the image of the outraged hoser who has lost his prize, the U.S. made a pathetic show of force during Duterte's visit with China. A U.S. warship strutted around the South China Sea like it owned the place on Friday, calling it a 'freedom-of-navigation operation.' What a load of bananas! The U.S. is losing influence and is trying to reassert its dominance. Since the Philippines is looking to mend ties with China, the U.S. is shifting focus to the other countries involved in the South China Sea conflict. An anonymous U.S official told Reuters that the U.S. Navy missile destroyer USS Decatur carried out the provocation near the Triton and Woody Islands, which are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. With the conflict between the Philippines and China dissipating, the U.S. is desperate to reinvigorate tensions.
U.S. Propaganda Does Itself In
© EQualizer PostDo you believe in your heart of hearts that you can take the Philippine presidential oath of office after all your citizenship flip-flops?
The farce of Grace Poe's candidacy during the 2016 presidential elections foreshadowed waning U.S. influence. Here was a candidate who was at one time an American citizen, with an American husband and children. Her eligibility for running was called into question due to residency requirements and eventually she was disqualified by the Commission of Elections. Poe appealed to the Supreme Court which overturned the decision and allowed her to run. Unfortunately for her, the people rallied behind a leader who was genuinely interested in the Philippines for the Philippines.
The outlandish previous president, Benigno Aquino, was another embarrassment. During his tenure, he readily exacerbated tensions with China over the South China Sea conflict. In a 2015 visit to Japan he went as low as likening China's claims to the waters to Nazi Germany's encroachment over Europe. This was a particularly inflammable and absurd statement to make given China's defensive fight against marauding Japan during WWII. With orders from the United States, Aquino led the bogus charge towards the Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration over the territorial claims.
In his article U.S. belligerence and the countdown to war in the South China Sea, Joachim Hagopian writes:
Though the legal challenge contesting China's regional island claims were initiated in 2013 by the Philippines, actually it was the United States throwing its full weight around the globe despite its ocean's width away. Not one Filipino attorney was a member of the legal team that filed the lawsuit to the arbitrator - all American lawyers from a high rolling Boston legal firm other than a small British contingent. Long before this month's decision, China asserted that it would not comply with the UN ruling due to never recognizing the UN's jurisdiction over sovereign maritime matters. China has consistently called for bilateral negotiations between China and Philippines as the only viable sovereign resolution to the territorial dispute. Even the recently elected Philippine president concurred that a bilaterally reached agreement is the most judicious option available to resolving the controversy. Under the previous Aquino administration in 2012, Philippines' former US naval base at Subic Bay was reoffered the US Empire after the Philippine Senate in 1992 had ordered it off limits to US military due to repeated rape and murder cases of underage Filipina girls.These are just a few small examples from the past couple of years. The Philippines has been subjugated by Western rule for as long as it's been deemed a country. First, it was the Spaniards, and then it became the first imperial conquest of the United States. As the age of British colonial rule began to collapse all over the globe during the 1940s, the U.S. understood a change in tactics was necessary and 'granted' the Philippines independence in 1946. The independence was in name only. The postcolonial period up to the modern day has been wrought with corruption, massive debt, coups, insurgencies, drug running, and other disasters. The Philippines has been maintained as a chaos-state to ensure dependence on U.S. aid. The shift in Duterte's policies are momentous and historic in this regard. With the power of U.S. influence faltering, never before has the Philippines had such a viable opportunity for true sovereignty.
Filipinos burn an effigy of Obama in 2014
Western propagandists would like the world to believe Duterte's visit to Beijing is an invitation for China's dominance over the Philippines. This is simply projection; thinking in terms of dominance and submission are the only categories such small-minded talking heads understand. This is not China's way. See Joe Quinn's analysis on "China and the Eurasian Breakout" in Russian Actions in Syria Part of Radical Remaking of Global Order: A New World Awaits. In short, China is building towards a larger Eurasian system with other countries rather than using such nations as controlled pawns in power plays. The Philippines is China's neighbor and it's perfectly logical that they would be natural partners in the integrative development towards a stronger Eurasia.
During Duterte's visit to China, which was the first country he's visited outside ASEAN since he took office, the two countries signed "13 deals, worth more than $13.5 billion, on finance, anti-drug efforts, production cooperation and tourism, said Ramon Lopez, the Philippine trade and industry secretary."
"This is the springtime of our relationship," Duterte told Xi, adding that the two countries should enhance cooperation in areas including trade, investment, agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure and tourism, as well as in efforts to combat drugs and terrorism.When was the last time you heard about such kinds of mutually beneficial agreements being made between the U.S. and its 'partners'? Never. Instead we see disastrous proposals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership that aims to lock out China from US-Asian trade, and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership which seeks to do the same to Russia as regards EU-US trade. And amidst it all, the U.S.'s perpetual push for war, IMF austerity, idiotic sanctions, illegal coups, and spreading of its terrorist proxy armies all over the planet continues. The U.S. simply doesn't know what it means to act in partnership with other countries. Rules of hospitality, good will, and sincere discussions aimed at resolving conflict are apparently foreign concepts to 'the American way'.
According to Liu, Xi has announced that China will lift the travel advisories issued two years ago for Chinese people traveling to the Philippines, adding that this will encourage more Chinese to visit the Southeast Asian country.
These ideas, however, do have value in other cultures, as Duterte demonstrated during his visit:
When a reporter with the Japanese TV broadcaster NHK asked if he would raise the arbitration issue when meeting with Xi, Duterte said it is not the time to do so, and he will tell Xi, "I'm not here to make hard impositions".Here's Duterte's speech given at the Philippines-China Trade and Investment Forum. As many good speakers do, he opens with a joke (appropriately directed at the U.S.):
"I have to be courteous. ... It is a matter of courtesy and an Oriental way," he said, adding, "Because I am a visitor now, I cannot destroy the good will."
"Shy and obedient" Duterte is not, but he is respectful where respect is deserved. So naturally, the U.S. gets no respect. We can't say they didn't have it coming.
Filipinos took to the streets today to protest the NATO and US military bases on their land.
I recall a lot of dirt thrown about him during their elections and now I can see why they resorted to character assassination. Anyone who is against US control gets this, yet the scum bags who are obviously thieves and liars get good press with plenty of justifications. Sheesh