In international relations, an alliance is a coalition formed by two or more countries against their commonly perceived security threat. Duterte doesn't see the United States as a security threat to our country. By building ties with China and Russia, Duterte isn't forging an alliance with them; he's simply diversifying our diplomatic relations. He isn't saying goodbye to America but establishing the boundary of our relationship with Uncle Sam.
For a long time, our country has been in an enmeshed relationship with the US. We have depended on US support, adopted their views of the world, and relied on their approval. In the process, we have failed to develop our own identity as a geopolitical actor. A strong geopolitical identity is rooted in a deep understanding of one's own diplomatic history, values, and aspirations. We can't fully position ourselves in a strategic context if we don't have a strong sense of self. Time to reflect as a nation: Who we are without the Americans? How does the world look like to us if we're going to look at it with our own history, values, and aspirations?
The Philippines remains an ally of the United States. It has not withdrawn from its Mutual Defense Treaty (1951) with Washington. Duterte has not also cancelled EDCA. The US still enjoys all the privileges under that agreement. Duterte only wants American troops out of Mindanao because they pose a security risk there. He also announced that he will limit our country's joint patrol with the US within the Philippines' territorial sea (i.e. 12 nm from the baseline). Why? Because the territorial sea is the only portion of the EEZ that is part of a coastal State's territory. He got mad at Goldberg and Obama for trying to interfere in our internal affairs. Some interpret this as cutting ties with Washington. They are missing the point.
Duterte is not pushing the Americans away. He is setting the limits of their influence in our country. And defining the limitation of America's or any country's influence in our country is a valid exercise of our standing as an equal sovereign nation of any State and a rightful exercise of the power of the President as the chief architect of our foreign policy. Certainly, through his shocking antics, Duterte isn't only asserting the independence of our country in the international arena, he's also showing his resolve in our domestic politics -- and such brazen display of power seduces and awes.
By setting the limits of US influence in our country, Duterte is demonstrating to other nations that we are no longer America's "little brown brother." We are America's equal; sovereign in our own domestic affairs. And just like any sovereign nation, we will chart our own destiny rooted in our understanding of our own history, guided by our own values, and shaped by our own political struggle.
Two interrelated elements accompany Duterte's delimitation of America's influence in our country: policy of diversification and policy of détente. The diversification element is about broadening our diplomatic relations. It's best exemplified by forging relations with Russia. Meanwhile, the policy of détente is about easing our tensions with China.
Through diversification, the Philippines balances America's influence in its affairs by engaging with other major powers (e.g. Russia, Iran, France, Germany, Brazil) deepening ties with middle powers (e.g. Iran, Israel, Indonesia), and pursuing a policy of solidarity with our fellow smaller powers (e.g. African nations). Détente with China isn't only about diversifying our diplomatic relations, it's also a necessary step in order to resolve our disputes with them. Resolving inter-State disputes always involves reconciling the interests of the contending parties. We will not be able to fully pursue our interests in the South China Sea and reconcile them with the interests of China if we aren't going to have amicable relations with them. And we will only have a clearer understanding of our own interests and what we must do to realise and reconcile them with our rivals in our own strategic context if we're going to finally stop sitting on the shoulders of Uncle Sam and start standing on our own feet, seeing the world from where we are, charting our own destiny. Time to realise that the world isn't just the United States of America.
