It's Time to Take Duterte Seriously

Is Philippine Prez a New U.S. Threat?
Does Duterte Serve the Bests Interests of the Philippines?

Rodrigo Duterte

Feature Commentary

By JIM PURCELL

In recent weeks, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has changed or threatened to change longtime understandings about geopolitics and Asia alliances insofar as the U.S. and the Philippines are concerned.

President Duterte has made it plain that he, as a leader of the Philippines, no longer regards Asia -- or the world for that matter -- through the lens of any Philippines-U.S. alliance. Further, the Philippine president has made very public statements that, at least ideologically, he and his nation are now more aligned with Red China and the Russian Federation than with the West.

In his Beijing press conference earlier this week, Duterte pressed the point that his government is seriously considering canceling all military cooperation between the U.S. and the Philippines, including the abandonment of long-standing Philippine defense pacts with the U.S.

President Duterte has made this much clear: It is time for the U.S. Government, as a whole, to responsibly re-evaluate vulnerabilities that currently exist between the U.S. and Duterte's regime. The U.S. cannot count on an ally that is not an ally. In a post-9/11 world, can Americans afford to not take seriously the clear, loud anti-American statements and actions of a  supposed ally? I think not.

The relationship between the American people and the people of the Philippines is not at issue, in my opinion. Americans and Filipinos have been peoples with the same destiny for many decades now. The friendship of these two great peoples is written clearly in the pages of history, and often in American and Filipino blood. The U.S. does not, I believe, need to defend itself against the Filipino people. However, this nation does need to assess the clear danger that President Duterte presents to the American people at home and abroad, its trade agreements in Asia and the Pacific Rim, as well as its potential for military harm against the United States, its allies, or interests in the Pacific or around the world.

It was Duterte, in China, who issued the call that it would be "China, the Philippines and Russia against the world." I believe that clearly requires some consideration by the U.S. Government, its leaders, diplomats and military, to sharply weigh this nation's posture with regards to the Duterte regime. While all of this is going on, American diplomats have said a grand total of nothing of substance. And, can the U.S. afford uncomfortable silences where this danger may or may not exist because it is inconvenient to begin assessing the harm this regime poses or could pose against the United States.

The U.S. Government should not cut off its ties in empathy to the Filipino people, though it must begin to take seriously the rantings of an anti-American leader who is fast making a mark as much more than an American critic. He has crossed that meridian, in my opinion, and is en route to becoming an enemy of this nation.

What is at stake?

The U.S.-Philippine relationship is not just one of state dinners and pomp and circumstance. At issue is Duterte's willingness to potentially harbor terrorism, or to sponsor worldwide terrorism against the United States, and how that relates to the U.S. policies of immigration, trade and military support. This must be examined before there is something to regret; not afterward. Duterte has painted himself as an enemy of the U.S., its people and interests worldwide. He cannot be trusted, nor should his regime.

Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of this global dilemma is not the ongoing drama between the U.S. and China over the South China Sea. Instead, this madman is leading his nation and its people down a road to become a satellite of China, Russia or both. And, it is only his people who will suffer in the end, long after he has left his post and stepped away from the bright lights of public office.