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Duterte and Roh Moo-hyun

Posted October. 24, 2016 07:19,   

Updated October. 24, 2016 07:27

한국어

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has become the global newsmaker for his ruthless “war on drugs” and coarse expressions, but the recent comment is indeed quite serious. He said on Wednesday, “I announce my separation with the United States,” and added that there will never be any intervention or military drills with the U.S. The announcement came even as he was cordially treated as the state guest in China. Regarding the relationship with China, which is conflicting with the U.S. on the matter of the South China Sea, the new Philippine president threw a wet blanket over its ally nation by describing its diplomatic ties with Beijing as “an opportune time.”

Duterte even said last month that the Philippines is no longer subject to the U.S., and has already decolonized. While arguing that he has no intentions to cancel military alliance with the U.S., he questioned whether Washington really thinks his country needs the alliance. He pointed out that the U.S. didn’t do a thing when Russia attacked Ukraine. Some analyze that Duterte is confronting with Washington while stepping closer to Beijing in order to gain better interest by increasing ransom between the two nations.

History tells that small nations require alliance whenever they need power of strong nations. Machiavelli reiterated in the book “Il Principe" (or "The Prince" in English), however, that alliance with superior power should be avoided except in unavoidable circumstances, as the tie may be more favorable to powerful nations. As often called as “Machiavellist” by Filipino political scientists, Duterte may be distancing from the U.S. under the influence of the Italian politician. Moreover, he may have forgotten the unfair consequences after the territorial dispute with China when U.S. troops withdrew from the Philippines in 1992.

In September 2002, the then-Presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun raised issues as he made controversial comments such as “would it make me an anti-American for not visiting the U.S., and would it really matter if one is indeed an anti-American?” During his administration, the diplomatic and security officials were divided into those who support “autonomy” and “alliance,” shaking the Korea-U.S. alliance. In his first edition of “Politics Among Nations,” globally renowned scholar Hans Morgenthau said that R.O.K-U.S. alliance is the one between weak and strong nations, which should be best avoided. But if he was alive now, he may revise this argument. Maybe Duterte - who is walking on a tightrope between the U.S. and China - can also learn from the Seoul-Washington partnership.



김순덕 yuri@donga.com