READ: Foreign selloff shows 'discomfort' with Duterte rhetoric, analyst says!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0skEB_WdIH52EEVN7kjNIsLKhFETJOqz9mX1uf1lOt2o32vaYSi7GU76vCRmSywwoptkLEN6TO3Cz1_W4dRtceBvb0ysDPm7TqpzWWk01Jnu6eLyufzmRgMPmOWgXvCjgJZ483pe5Gw/s1600/duterte-092316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0skEB_WdIH52EEVN7kjNIsLKhFETJOqz9mX1uf1lOt2o32vaYSi7GU76vCRmSywwoptkLEN6TO3Cz1_W4dRtceBvb0ysDPm7TqpzWWk01Jnu6eLyufzmRgMPmOWgXvCjgJZ483pe5Gw/s640/duterte-092316.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <h3> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: magenta;">MANILA – A foreign selloff in the stock market indicates “discomfort” with President Rodrigo Duterte’s tough rhetoric, as investors gauge whether the government’s economic reform agenda is on track, an analyst said Friday</span></b>.</span></h3> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Foreign portfolio investments posted net outflows of $600,000 on Thursday, bringing the weekly total to $34.3 million and the monthly total to $344.8 million, according to Bloomberg data.<br /> <br /> <i>“The foreign selling demonstrates the discomfort that they have with, maybe, what they hear from the President,” John Padilla, investment management head at Metrobank Trust Banking Group told ANC’s “Market Edge with Cathy Yang.”</i></span><br /> <div> <br /></div> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UVTRXm488rQ" width="693"></iframe><br /> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://go.ad2up.com/afu.php?id=787282"><span style="color: magenta;">View more here (Link1)</span></a></h4> In the last few weeks, Duterte directed curse-filled jabs at the United States, the United Nations and the European Union for criticizing his bloody war on drugs. On Thursday, he said he did not care about credit ratings agencies.<br /> <br /> <h4> <span style="text-align: center;">                                                          <span style="color: magenta;">  </span></span><span style="color: magenta;"><a href="http://go.ad2up.com/afu.php?id=786809" style="text-align: center;">(Link2)</a> </span></h4> <br /> American debt-watcher Standard & Poor’s said this week that the predictability of the country’s economic policy-making had “diminished somewhat” following the President’s attacks on the country’s traditional allies and as he focuses on his anti-crime drive.<br /> <br /> <h4> <span style="text-align: center;">                                                       <span style="color: magenta;">    </span></span><a href="http://go.ad2up.com/afu.php?id=774878" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: magenta;">(Link3)</span></a></h4> <br /> Investors will be “watching more on deviations” from policy, Padilla said.<br /> <br /> “Investors like the infrastructure story, the tax reform story, all the other reforms that the government is pushing forward. If there won’t be any deviations from there, I think, the patience on the market will remain, will be sustained,” he said.<br /> <br /> While it maintained its investment grade score on the Philippines’ sovereign debt, S&P said a rating upgrade was unlikely in the next two years.<br /> <br /> “The move to investment garde really catapulted the Philippines to a new dimension. I think we were back on the radar screen of major investmwent houses and major investors as well,” Padilla said.<br /> <br /> “To lose that, would be like, look at us in the same way that they were looking at us – the Sick Man of Asia. I really wouldn’t want to see that happen,” he said.<br /> <br /> The Philippines enjoys investment grade status in all three major debt-watchers—S&P, Fitch Ratings, and Moody’s Investors Service.<br /> <br /> An investment grade rating gives the country access to a wider market for its debt offerings, which will help raise funds to spend on infrastructure and other development projects<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;">                 </div> <div style="text-align: center;">       </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <h4> <br />SOURCE: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/23/16/foreign-selloff-shows-discomfort-with-duterte-rhetoric-analyst-says">ABS-CBN</a></h4>

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MANILA – A foreign selloff in the stock market indicates “discomfort” with President Rodrigo Duterte’s tough rhetoric, as investors gaug...

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READ: Is Duterte launching a foreign policy revolution?

<span style="background-color: white; color: #4c4c4c; line-height: 25.5px;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Far from alienating foreign powers, Duterte seems to be at the receiving end of a proactive courtship by all major powers in the region.</i></span></b></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoSrSL43FY2Dz7u2C1SA9UuR-N-fv8X1Om_5SLhOd2InMHJooVoSI97GvF3iuA7bfoA01iuldQ-no8VH4gua4ACEpyEIhkg_Hv5PCRKdA78BiT6oT9LxaqtYETf8tdHc3ct5ztEVpjQM/s1600/Screenshot_58.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoSrSL43FY2Dz7u2C1SA9UuR-N-fv8X1Om_5SLhOd2InMHJooVoSI97GvF3iuA7bfoA01iuldQ-no8VH4gua4ACEpyEIhkg_Hv5PCRKdA78BiT6oT9LxaqtYETf8tdHc3ct5ztEVpjQM/s640/Screenshot_58.png" width="640" /></a></div> <span style="background-color: white; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px;"><br /></span> <div class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">“The more it changes, the more it’s the same thing,” 19</span><span class="s2" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12.75px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span></span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> century French thinker <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Alphonse_Karr" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s3" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr</span></a> once lamented. In the realm of <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">foreign policy</a>, observers do tend to adopt a similarly skeptical attitude when new leaders come into power on the back of bombastic campaign-trail statements and cliché promises of transformative change. Yet, since the election of President <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">Rodrigo Duterte</a>, there has been a perceptive, though liminal, shift in Philippine <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">foreign policy</a>.</span></div> <div class="p4" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">While Duterte’s random rhetorical outbursts, most recently against the United Nations, have absorbed much of media attention, something more fundamental and strategic is actually at stake.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">With Duterte rapidly <a href="http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2016/08/01/a-debate-on-the-new-philippine-administration/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">consolidating his position</span></a> at the center of the Philippine political system, he is also, like none of his predecessors in recent memory, in a strong position to introduce a significant <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">foreign policy</a> reset, particularly with respect to China and the United States.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Unlike his immediate predecessor, Benigno Aquino, he has extended an olive branch to China, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-ruling-philippines-idUSKCN10N0CS" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">deploying former president Fidel Ramos</span></a> to conduct backdoor negotiations with the Asian powerhouse. He has also <a href="http://globalnation.inquirer.net/137093/duterte-tells-china-build-us-a-railway-and-lets-set-aside-differences-for-a-while" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">welcomed massive Chinese investments</span></a> in the realm of public infrastructure and downplayed territorial disputes in the <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">South China Sea</a>, emphasizing the necessity of separating areas of conflict from zones of convergence in mutual interests.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">“I hope the Chinese may find a place in their hearts for the Filipinos. I hope you treat us [as] your brothers and not enemies and take note of our plight,” declared Duterte, facing Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua, during his speech at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Now contrast this to how Duterte has mostly spoken vis-à-vis America and its highest representative in the country.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Time and again, Duterte has shown limited reticence with <a href="http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/05/17/1584025/duterte-us-are-you-us" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">expressing discontent</span></a> with perceived <a href="http://nationalinterest.org/feature/will-america-go-war-the-philippines-15031" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">lack of American military support</span></a> amid the maritime spats. With respect to relations with America, Duterte has broken one diplomatic taboo after the other. At one point, Duterte went so far as stating: “I would only ask the US ambassador, ‘are you with us [in the <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">West Philippine Sea</a>]?’”</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">His open expression of skepticism – a remarkable departure from his predecessors – seems to have gained growing support among the Philippine public as well as intelligentsia, even though America enjoys <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/06/23/1-americas-global-image/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">astronomically high approval ratings</span></a> in the country.</span></div> <div class="p5" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s5" style="box-sizing: border-box;">In fact, since the campaign period, Duterte, a <span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/779984/duterte-im-a-socialist-not-a-communist-last-card" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">self-described "socalist," </a></span>has emphasized his preference for a more <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Philippines-Duterte-Backs-Away-from-US-on-Foreign-Policy-20160531-0014.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">"independent"</span></a> <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">foreign policy</a>, which effectively means less reliance on America. Shortly after his election victory, Duterte declared, </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">"I will be chartering a [new] course [for the <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">Philippines</a>] on its own and will not be dependent on the United States." During the campaign period, Duterte called on both American and Australian ambassadors to <a href="http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/563428/news/nation/duterte-tells-us-australia-sever-our-ties-if-i-become-president" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">‘shut their mouths’</span></a> and threatened to sever ties if elected after the two Western diplomats expressed dismay over the Filipino politician’s controversial remarks.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s6" style="box-sizing: border-box;">For fiercely independent-minded Duterte, foreign <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/355272-philippines-calls-usambassador-gay/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">powers were "interfering"</span></a> in the<a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">Philippines</a>’ domestic affairs. </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">More recently, Duterte’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/10/philippines-leader-calls-us-ambassador-gay-son-of-a-whore-prompting-summons" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">insulting remarks</span></a>, during another off-the-cuff episode, about US ambassador Philip Goldberg provoked diplomatic censure from Washington, which didn’t </span><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">hesitate to also criticize</span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Duterte’s <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21704793-rodrigo-duterte-living-up-his-promise-fight-crime-shooting-first-and-asking-questions" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">full-fledged anti-crime campaign</span></a>.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">But Duterte has refused to apologize. Upon closer inspection, what one discovers is not only some ephemeral quarreling among old friends, but instead a steady and gradual recalibration in Philippine relations with both America and China. Duterte could very well become the most consequential president in Philippine <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">foreign policy</a> -- and foreign powers and old allies should acknowledge it. The <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">Philippines</a> seems to have got its first truly ‘post-American’ leader.</span></div> <div class="p4" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 700; margin-top: 50px;">New strongman</span></span></div> <div class="p4" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">A month into office, Duterte has, in unequivocal terms, demonstrated his commitment to stand by his campaign-era promises – that he means what he says.</span></div> <div class="p4" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">On the domestic front, we have already seen a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/world/asia/philippines-rodrigo-duterte.html?_r=0" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">dramatic uptick</span></a> in state-led crackdown on organized crime and proliferation of illegal drugs. The country is in the midst of what Duterte has described as a <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21704793-rodrigo-duterte-living-up-his-promise-fight-crime-shooting-first-and-asking-questions" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">‘war on crime’</span></a></span><span class="s5" style="box-sizing: border-box;">, adopting a non-compromising approach to law and order challenges in the country, despite growing international outcry and criticism from human rights advocates in the country.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Promising to also get rid of corruption, Duterte has even taken on <a href="http://www.rappler.com/nation/141861-duterte-roberto-ongpin-oligarch" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">alleged oligarchs</span></a>, threatening to ‘destroy’ them lest they stop their rent-seeking practices and stop manipulating state institutions for narrow business interests.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Demonstrating his progressive bona fide, and willingness to confront abusive multinational companies, Duterte has also <a href="http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/08/01/1609040/duterte-mining-firms-we-can-survive-without-you" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">declared his willingness</span></a> to end any large-scale mining in the country. Many mining conglomerates <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/30/reuters-america-philippine-mining-set-for-bumpy-ride-under-duterte-administration.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">have seen</span></a> their licenses either revoked or in danger of facing restrictions and heavy state scrutiny. Almost singlehandedly, Duterte has transformed the Philippine state into a pro-active agent, taking on organized crime, crony capitalists, and major extractive industries.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">To push ahead with his peace agenda in the troubled southern island of Mindanao, Duterte has considered controversial confidence-building measures (i.e., freeing <a href="http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/08/03/1609676/tiamzons-be-released-ahead-peace-talks" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">key communist insurgent leaders</span></a></span><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">)</span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">, which has, so far, <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/philippines-and-communist-rebels-agree-indefinite-cease-fire-1472215132" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">proven auspicious</span></a> in terms of facilitating peace negotiations. Simultaneously, he has sought to win the hearts and minds of the armed forces by offering them constant moral support as well as the<a href="http://cnnphilippines.com/regional/2016/07/22/Duterte-soldiers-policemen-salaries-double.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">promise of increasing</span></a> their paltry salaries. And the President is <a href="http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/143584-duterte-military-camp-visits-analysis" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">rapidly warming up</span></a> to the armed forces.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Though massively controversial outside the country, vast majority of Filipinos (<a href="http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2016/07/20/91-filipinos-trust-duterte-pulse-asia-486396" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">91%</span></a>) have expressed trust in and support for Duterte. Enjoying ‘super-majority’ support in the Congress, and set to appoint the bulk of the Supreme Court justices in coming years, Duterte is rapidly emerging as the <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">Philippines</a>’ most powerful president in recent memory. And this gives him significant leeway to shape the country’s domestic political landscape as well as <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">foreign policy</a> trajectory for years to come.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 700; margin-top: 50px;">Romance with Three Kingdoms</span></span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Far from alienating foreign powers, Duterte seems to be at the receiving end of a proactive courtship by all major powers in the region.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">On one hand, the United States has indeed sought to gain the good will of the new president by deploying two of its most senior diplomats, Secretary of State <a href="http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/07/20/1604794/us-state-chief-john-kerry-visit-duterte-manila" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">John Kerry</span></a></span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">as well as</span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">State Department Counselor <a href="http://www.rappler.com/nation/139393-united-states-kristie-kenney-trip-philippines-duterte-diplomacy" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Kristie Kenney</span></a> earlier this year. No less than U.S. President Barack Obama <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/18/asia/duterte-obama-human-rights-call/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">was the first foreign leader</span></a> to congratulate and speak directly to Duterte upon his election victory.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">In response, Duterte has expressed gratitude to the United States, reiterated his commitment to honoring the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed between his predecessor and the Obama administration, and has <a href="http://globalnation.inquirer.net/142580/duterte-us-best-supplier-of-arms-defense-equipment-to-ph" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">reassured</span></a>“</span><span class="s8" style="box-sizing: border-box;">our [Philippine] strong alliance with America,”</span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Yet, it is unlikely that things will remain the same between the two allies. For Duterte, the priority is to expand <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">Philippines</a>’ strategic relations with fellow Asian countries, particularly Japan and China.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">As the former mayor of Davao City, a bustling metropolis in the island of Mindanao, Duterte maintained robust commercial with Japanese investors as well as close diplomatic ties with the Japanese consulate. Based on my exchanges with Japanese officials, it seems that Tokyo has considerable confidence in the new Filipino president and is more than willing to expand <a href="http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2016/03/05/turning-over-a-new-leaf-in-japan-philippines-relations/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">already-blossoming</span></a> strategic ties with the<a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">Philippines</a>. Just recently, the Japanese Foreign Minister </span><span class="s8" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Minoru Kiuchi visited Manila, with Tokyo</span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> pledging more than <a href="http://globalnation.inquirer.net/127016/japan-vows-2b-loan-for-tutuban-malolos-rail-project" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">$2 billion</span></a> to infrastructure development projects in the<a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">Philippines</a>.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Crucially, Japan offered to also invest in Mindanao, Duterte’s home island, which is in desperate need of infrastructure development. Japan also offered to lease a Japanese surveillance aircraft and <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3735794/Japan-fund-2-4-bn-railway-Philippines.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">promised two</span></a> 90-metre (295-foot) long vessels for the Philippine Coast Guard.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Duterte’s strategic compass will, however, largely point in the direction of Beijing in the meantime.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The reason is because the Filipino president is concerned about a dangerous escalation in the <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">West Philippine Sea</a>, especially in light of Beijing’s <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/08/05/chinas-gone-ballistic-since-the-hague-ruling/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">growing military assertiveness</span></a>, <a href="https://amti.csis.org/build-it-and-they-will-come/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">footprint</span></a> in contested waters, and <a href="http://globalnation.inquirer.net/141037/china-rejects-ruling-south-china-sea-null-void" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">diplomatic offensive</span></a> after suffering a massive legal defeat at The Hague. After <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2000842/former-philippines-president-fidel-ramos-heads-beijing" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">a five-day ‘ice breaker’ trip</span></a> to Hong Kong, where he met some senior Chinese officials and scholars, Duterte’s special envoy, Ramos, has <a href="http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-08/11/content_26428608.htm" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">received an invitation</span></a> to continue with high-level negotiations in the Mainland. This sets the tone for a potentially-rewarding meeting between Duterte and</span><span class="s9" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Chinese Premiere Li Keqiang on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit later this year.</span></div> <div class="p8" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">There are already discussions of Duterte choosing Beijing as his <a href="http://www.rappler.com/nation/144225-philippines-president-rodrigo-duterte-possible-trip-china" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;" target="_blank" title="Duterte eyes China trip ">first official state visit</a>, perhaps as early as next month. It is not clear whether negotiations could head towards any mutual-satisfactory deal in the near future, especially given China’s<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/12/philippines-wins-south-china-sea-case-against-china" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span class="s4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">intransigent territorial position</span></a> in the <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">West Philippine Sea</a>, but for the Duterte administration the priority, for now, is to </span><span class="s5" style="box-sizing: border-box;">navigate ways to de-escalate tensions and bring about a semblance of normality to bilateral ties with Beijing.</span></div> <div class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></div> <div class="p8" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s5" style="box-sizing: border-box;">He knows very well that there is no alternative to <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution#" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e76229; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;">diplomacy</a>. There is no alternative to peace. </span></div> <div class="p8" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s5" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></div> <div class="p8" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 8px;"> <span class="s5" style="box-sizing: border-box;">SOURCE: <a href="http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/144605-duterte-launching-foreign-policy-revolution?utm_content=bufferaa69c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">RAPPLER</a></span></div>

Foreign Policy Revolution READ: Is Duterte launching a foreign policy revolution?

Far from alienating foreign powers, Duterte seems to be at the receiving end of a proactive courtship by all major powers in the region. ...

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