​Oops!... He did it again

PHILIPPINES - In Brief 21 Oct 2016 by Romeo Bernardo

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Last month, when President Rodrigo Duterte said he was cancelling military exercises and other cooperation with the U.S., the general reaction even from inside government was, he couldn’t possibly have said that or even if he did, it couldn’t possibly be what it sounded like. But he did say it. And after the dutiful 72-hour news cycle for the President and his men to clarify what was said, it turned out that what he wanted was for the country to craft an independent foreign policy, a sensible posture considering what many political analysts deemed an overly pro-US stance adopted by the previous administration. It could have ended there but the President kept on his anti-US rants, seemingly intent to outdo himself each time he opened his mouth. While this “discombobulated talk”, as former President Fidel Ramos called it, has become the signature as far as presidential remarks go, he again managed to give everyone a jolt yesterday when he announced in a business forum in the middle of his state visit to China “my separation from the Unite States… both in military and economics,” adding that he is realigning with China and Russia and that “there are three of us against the world.” Immediately, his economic managers went into damage control mode. His trade secretary told CNN that “The statement the President made maintains the relationship with the West. What we are saying is that there will be less dependence just on one side of the world.” In a statement issued today, his economic team sought to situate the President’s remarks in the broader context of expanding links with Asia rather than shutting out traditional partners. It said that: “We will maintain relations with ...