Having lived in the Philippines for a couple years back in the 1990s, and visiting the country as often as I do, I try to follow Filipino politics – America-Philippines politics in particular. I have written extensively about my observations and conclusion of U.S.-Filipino-Sino-Russian relations in my Custom Maid for New World Order trilogy. Watching and analyzing Trump’s meetings with Duterte in the Philippines on the final leg of his 12 day Asia marathon-whirlwind tour, was a political feast and challenge.
Tracking Filipino politics since Rodrigo Duterte became president in June 2016 has been a daunting task. Figuring out American-Filipino politics since Donald Trump got elected in November 2016 is a real cluster bomb!
Duterte has scaled back the U.S.-Philippines traditional warm relationship in favor of China and Russia and vulgarly expressed his disdain for America and former president Obama. With Trump’s election – and his same feelings about Obama — thankfully, there seems to be a rapprochement. Duterte at 72, and 71-year-old Trump, are kindred populist-spirits who feel they are under siege by the “liberal media” and “globalist elite.”
Trump said he and Duerte “had a great relationship.” Duterte took the microphone and crooned a hit Filipino love song at the dinner in Manila for the leaders from across Asia and elsewhere. One of the song’s verses translates as:
“You are the light in my world, a half of this heart of mine.”
Duterte later declared: “Ladies and gentlemen, I sang uninvited upon the orders of the commander-in-chief of the United States.”
Duterte, a totalitarian-strongman, elected by the Filipino people in a democracy – a people who love America and most of whom have Chinese blood — may be the ideal suited leader and people to bridge the gap between the leader of the free world and the leader of the Chinese dictatorship. How else can we prevent Armageddon?
America and China do have a common interest to preserve peace in Asia first. Secondly, the common bridge that both countries need to strengthen and jointly work with to resolve their differences on how to maintain that peace, especially in the South China Sea, is the Philippines.