Philippine President Turns to Russia, China amid Coup Threat and War on Drugs
Local Editor
Amid a current cool in relations with Washington, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte now wants to turn to Russia and China using them as a counterbalance to the US and the West.
In October Duterte will pay working visits to Beijing and Moscow where he will be meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
"I will open up the Philippines for [Russia and China] to do business and will create alliances of trade and commerce. I will open telecommunications and airlines [to foreign companies]," he said.
This came as very alarming news for the US which maintains a big military presence in the Philippines.
The island state is a key element of Washington's Asian sector of missile "defense" stretching from Japan to Australia and the possible loss of its military bases there would seriously undermine the United States' positions in the region.
When he won a landslide victory in May's general election, Rodrigo Duterte vowed to crack down on criminals in an unprecedented blitz to rid the country of illegal drugs in six months. The move has dealt a serious blow to the local drug barons and their corrupt helpers in state and police apparatuses raised the threat of a military coup to topple Duterte.
"These people, who have lost millions during this campaign, may be all too willing to get rid of the president and may already be plotting a coup despite their assurances to the contrary," Moscow-based political analyst Vladimir Kolotov told Sputnik.
In an interview with Sputnik Russian security expert Yevgeny Mikhailov said that the Philippine president's independent policy made him a prime target for the West, above all the United States, which wants to dominate the whole world.
Meanwhile, The Philippines turn to Russia and China could result in a possible removal of US military bases in the country.
"This would also help restore the Philippines' sovereign status because no country where the US maintains its military presence, can be considered as truly sovereign and independent," Vladimir Kolotov added.
Source: Sputnik, Edited by website team
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