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NEW DELHI (THE STATESMAN / ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Washington and his friends around the world will be delighted with the return to the American fold of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who in the years after his election in 2016 was believed to have embraced Beijing to the point of failing to press an arbitration ruling that held that China’s expansion into the South China Sea was a violation of international law.
Duterte, who had taken office shortly after the ruling was issued, had given up on pressing him, while strengthening ties with China and distancing his country from the United States, a traditional ally with whom he had signed a treaty in 1951. mutual defense.
Now this has changed, and while the first indications were available in the recent statements by Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin, they were confirmed by the forceful presentation that Mr. Duterte made at the United Nations General Assembly.
Speaking to the world body last week, Duterte said that the court’s ruling “is now part of international law, beyond commitment and beyond the reach of passing governments to dilute, diminish or abandon.”
As China would have been twisted in bewilderment, Duterte went on to say: “We welcome the growing number of states that have supported the award and what it represents: the triumph of reason over recklessness, of law over disorder, of friendship. on ambition “.
But it is not just strong words that the Philippines has used. In June, it suspended a decision to end a 22-year agreement that facilitated joint military exercises with the United States.
He called on the United States and other nations to help maintain security in the South China Sea, echoing a position taken by Vietnam and even when China called the United States the “biggest driver of militarization” in the area.
While many nations have supported the Permanent Court of Arbitration award, now cited by Duterte and systematically ignored by China, a country with significant interests in Asia has carefully stepped over the fence.
In the four years since the award was announced, India has barely spoken a word in support of the Philippines or the international rule of law.
While neutrality may have until now been a carefully considered position, many strategic thinkers believe that the costs of silence are increasing by the day.
If China manages to project itself into the South China Sea, to the point of perching above international law, then it will seek to dominate the edge of the Indian Ocean.
Like the mandarins of the South Block, President Duterte had also once assumed that it was safer not to prick the dragon.
He seems to have learned his lesson; New Delhi, especially after the serial provocations in Ladakh?
The Statesman is a member of the media partner of The Straits Times Asia News Network, an alliance of 24 media entities.
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