‘I Want to Open New Fronts with Russia & China as US Lived Off the Fat of Our Land,’ Philippines’ Duterte Tells RT

• ‘I Want to Open New Fronts with Russia & China as US Lived Off the Fat of Our Land,’ Philippines’ Duterte Tells RT
  by https://www.rt.com/
  Speaking to RT, firebrand President Rodrigo Duterte spewed vitriol at the US for seeing the Philippines as “a vassal state,” revealing that he has sets his hopes on reaching out to Moscow and Beijing instead.
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  “America is not the Philippines and the Philippines is not America. It ain’t that way anymore, and I refuse to dovetail under American foreign policy,” Duterte proclaimed in a candid interview with RT.
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  Although Washington – which acquired the Philippines from Spain for just $20 million in the late 19th century – had “lived off the fat of the land,” their attitudes haven’t seemed to change over time, he claimed. The US “looks at us as a vassal state because we were under Americans for 50 years.”
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  Frustrated by US conduct, Manila has set its sights on Russia and China, which “respect the sovereignty of the Philippines [where] America is totally lacking.”
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  “So if I cannot get a credible posture from the Americans, I can get if from the Russians and the Chinese government.”
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  Last October, Duterte visited Moscow, hoping to boost to his country’s ties with Russia. Trade was high on the talks’ agenda, with top Russian officials saying Moscow was willing to heavily invest in the Philippines’ energy sector, transportation and agriculture.
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