FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay left for Washington to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry, saying his trip was “a sign of good ties” between the US and the Philippines, even as President Rodrigo Duterte kept up his anti-American rhetoric.In a TV interview, Yasay said Duterte’s order for US Special Forces to pull out of Mindanao did not signal a change in foreign policy, particularly toward the Americans.
“I would like to assure the Filipino people that there is no shift in so far as our policy is concerned with respect to our friendship with the Americans,” Yasay said on the ANC news channel.
“This trip is proof of our good ties with the US,” he said in a separate interview with radio dzMM.
On Monday, Duterte said the US Special Forces based in Mindanao “had to go,” as he again brought up the American pacification campaign there in the early 1900s that led to death of hundreds of Moros.
Yasay said he would go to Washington first to meet with Kerry, then proceed to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.
“I’ll be meeting with Secretary Kerry. I’m confident Philippine-US relations will continue and go forward much stronger,” Yasay said.
Yasay added that pursuing an independent foreign policy did not mean a shift away from its allies.
“When President Duterte said that we are going to pursue an independent foreign policy, he was not articulating something that is new or a shift. This is exactly what the Constitution mandates, we must pursue an independent foreign policy taking into consideration the paramount national interest and ensuring our sovereignty, territorial integrity and self-determination,” Yasay said.
Yasay also said that the long-standing ties with the US remain strong despite Duterte’s recent attacks on the Americans.
Former permanent representative to the United Nations for the Philippines Lauro Baja Jr. said most of the US Special Forces who are engaged in the operational aspects of the agreement to fight terrorism have already left.
“Most of them have left,” Baja said.
In a press briefing at Washington US State Department spokesman John Kirby said ties between the US and the Philippines go back a long way.
“We have a long, productive history with the Philippines. I understand that it’s not a history without its past troubles, but we’re committed to our alliance with the Philippines, and we look forward to working our way through that,” Kirby said.
In his TV interview, Yasay also contradicted the President, who said he had purposely skipped the US-Asean meeting in Laos.
“The reason Duterte wasn’t able to attend two meetings in Asean Summit was because he wasn’t feeling well,” Yasay said.