Will Russian weapons speak in the Philippines?
Duterte - a fighter against drug trafficking
On a very active and taut Duterte, one cannot say that he is seventy-two years old. He looks like a youthful and strong man who knows what he wants. The head of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte took less than a year ago, 30 June 2016 g. Before that, he very long headed the city of Davao. He first became mayor in the 1988 year and held this post until the 1998 year - ten years. The second mayor term was in the 2001-2010 years and amounted to nine years. And the third time Duterte visited the mayor's chair from 30 June 2013 of the year to 30 of June 2016 of the year. The next step in his career was the presidency of the country.
Duterte is actively exploiting the image of a “man of the people,” who he is, in essence, is. Unlike many other Filipino politicians, he does not have Chinese or Spanish blood, he is an indigenous Filipino and tries to position himself as a patriot, practically nationalist. It was on the national feelings of the Filipinos that Duterte made a bid in his election campaign. As you can see - did not lose.
Having come to power, Duterte immediately launched a powerful anti-drug company. Police and special volunteer squads not only seize drug dealers across the country, but also simply shoot them on the spot. And such a brutal tactic can be understood - drugs have literally killed the Philippines for a long time, especially the younger generation. The Philippine cities were infested with drug addicts and drug addicts, and drug traffickers became so brazen that they acted openly, without fear of the police and special services. And it was not surprising, since many police officers and even generals were involved in corrupt relations with the “bosses” of the Philippine criminal gangs who control drug trafficking in the country. Rodrigo Duterte decided to put an end to this sad situation for the country. What immediately provoked discontent of the world community, which was concerned with inhumane methods of influence on drug traffickers.
Whose son is Obama
As you know, for a long time the Philippines obediently followed in the wake of American foreign policy. Back in the early twentieth centuries. The Philippines was under the control of the Americans, who initially supported the Filipinos in the struggle against the Spanish colonialists, who had owned the country of seven thousand islands for several centuries. The Philippines throughout the 20th century remained a reliable US satellite in the Asia-Pacific region. The behavior of Rodrigo Duterte as president of the country has become even more unusual.
Duterte, who literally began shooting at drug dealers and drug addicts on the streets of Philippine cities, immediately provoked sharp criticism from the American leadership. But instead of taking the words of the leaders of the United States and changing their behavior, as any of its predecessors would have done, Duterte unexpectedly reacted very sharply. The first from Duterte went to US Ambassador to Manila Philip Goldberg. In August 2016, the newly elected president responded to criticism from the ambassador, calling the diplomat a homosexual and a son of a bitch. Perhaps, for the first time in a country that was considered a traditional satellite of the United States, the head of state allowed himself to do with the American ambassador.
5 September 2016, speaking at a press conference, he collapsed with harsh words addressed to Barack Obama himself.
- Who does he think he is? I am not an American puppet. I am the president of a sovereign country, and I am not accountable to anyone except the people of the Philippines, ”said Duterte. “Son of a bitch, I'll tell you what!”
Duterte's words came as a shock to the entire world community, and above all to the United States, who considered the Philippines to be their obedient semi-colony.
Is the course towards Russia and China a reality or demagogy?
Further more - Duterte said that it is time for the Philippines to change the vector of foreign policy and promised that he would focus on cooperation with China and Russia. He spoke about the prospect of the liquidation of US naval and air bases in the Philippines, which had previously seemed unthinkable. At the same time, the President of the Philippines expressed his admiration for the Russian President Vladimir Putin. There is nothing surprising in this - the image of a strong leader who is able to resist the pro-American world community may well be impressed by Duterte, who tries to show himself just such a leader.
True, many politicians in the Philippines themselves believe that Duterte’s activities are typical demagoguery. There is a strong opposition in the Philippines, trying to accuse the president not only of mass repressions against drug traffickers, but also of corruption, and even of involvement in drug trafficking — it eliminates competitors, they say. Senator Leila de Lima even publicly accused Duterte of mass murder. A certain Edgar Matobato spoke in the Senate with the testimony that for a long time he served as a killer in the Lambada grouping, created by Duterte when the mayor of Davao was still being killed for drug dealers and simply for people he disliked. These accusations were gladly supported in the USA, since Duterte managed to set up very strongly against himself the American establishment.
By the way, after the election of Donald Trump as the new US president, the Philippine leader somewhat reduced the intensity of his anti-American rhetoric. Trump is the same age as Rodrigo Duterte, and is also known for his harsh statements. They have a certain similarity, and this is noticed by many journalists, both American and Filipino. But Duterte himself does not like being compared with Donald Trump. He calls him a "fanatic", and himself - a purely rationalist politician.
As for rapprochement with Russia, it has two motives. The first is purely economic. We will tell about it below. The second lies in the plane of the demonstration. And in this meeting in Moscow is beneficial to both leaders. For Vladimir Putin, the visit of the head of the Philippines is an extra trump card in favor of demonstrating Russian political authority and presence in the countries of Southeast Asia, including those traditionally allies and military partners of the United States. Rodrigo Duterte, in his turn, received the opportunity to once again show his independence in the foreign policy sphere to Washington. Of course, it’s ridiculous to talk about some kind of military alliance between Russia and the Philippines - this is impossible, if only because of the enormous distance between the countries, the impossibility of the Philippines to give some kind of "bonuses" to Russia in a military-strategic sense. And the American bases from the territory of the Philippines are not withdrawn, despite promises from Duterte. But once again showing Washington - first to Obama, and now to Trump - that the owner in Manila is still the president of the Philippines, and not the American ambassador, Duterte was always ready.
Manila is looking for a "new gunsmith"
Almost a year after the presidency, Rodrigo Duterte finally arrived in Moscow. May 25 Duterte was supposed to meet with Vladimir Putin. However, the meeting occurred earlier. Rodrigo Duterte explained to the head of the Russian state that he would be forced to leave home earlier than he had planned. In the Philippines, fighting continues with government forces with groups closely linked to the IS (prohibited in Russia), and Duterte cannot be absent for so long in the country.
What did the Philippine leader discuss with his Russian counterpart? There were no special relations or even a developed economic partnership between Russia and the Philippines. The Philippines supplied dried mango and palm oil. In some major cities in the families of wealthy people in European fashion appeared Filipino maids. Here, in general, and everything that binds our countries.
The trade turnover between the Philippines and Russia, due to the listed features of the economic relations between the two countries, remains low. It is 226 million dollars - not so much. Rodrigo Duterte, by the way, during a visit to Moscow, stated the need to expand exports of Philippine agricultural products to the Russian Federation. First of all, we are talking about exotic fruits that can be claimed by the Russian buyer.
But the question of what the Philippines can get from Russia is much more relevant for Duterte. Now for Manila, there is an acute problem of finding new channels for acquiring weapons. Previously, the "main gunsmith" of the Philippine army was the United States. But due to the behavior of President Duterte, American aid has declined. Yes, and to pay dearly for American weapons, this is the Philippine president and he attended to the possibility of acquiring cheaper weapons. Russia, which has long been selling weapons to many neighbors of the Philippines, is well suited for the role of a “gunsmith” for Manila.
By the way, shortly before the visit of President Duterte, the Minister of National Defense of the Philippines, Dolphin Lorenzana, visited Moscow, and met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu. He told reporters about the upcoming signing of a cooperation agreement between the two countries in the defense sphere.
“The Philippines seeks to cooperate with countries with which we can enter into lucrative deals and which most closely match the defense needs of the Philippines,” said the spokeswoman for the Philippine Foreign Ministry, Maria Cleofe Navidad.
Russia to such countries, of course, applies. And although Moscow was not previously among the military-political partners of Manila, why not start a new tradition? Moreover, with the same China, which Duterte intended to reorient to, in the Philippines there are still unresolved disputes over control of the sea space. In addition, China has clear ambitions for hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region, which Russia does not have. Moscow could simply demonstrate moral support for Manila, without demanding any special privileges in return. Rodrigo Duterte himself understands this perfectly well.
Weapons useful in the fight against the rebels
The problem of supplying weapons for Duterte is one of the most pressing. After all, government forces are still fighting against the numerous partisan groups on the island of Mindanao and some other islands.
The official authorities are opposed by two main armed political forces. The first is the rebels of the Moro - Filipino Muslims, who demand separation from the Philippines and the creation of their own Muslim state. Among them there are groups associated with influential international structures, receiving assistance from Arab foundations. For example, Abu Sayyaf has long been listed as a dangerous terrorist organization. Other moro groups are more moderate and do not cooperate with the international terrorist underground, although they also receive financial and other assistance from some Muslim states.
The second opponents of the current Filipino regime are the Maoist Communists from the New People’s Army, who, according to the precepts of their leader José Maria Sison, want to carry out a communist revolution in the country and start building a new society. Both have been fighting for decades, about sixty years. The Philippine authorities, despite American military aid, cannot defeat them. The Maoists enjoy the support of the peasant population in remote areas and for many decades have been able to create a sufficiently numerous and efficient army, which is constantly replenished with "recruits" from among the peasant youth, including very young people.
To fight the rebels, weapons always needed a lot. Moreover, with the sharp remarks of Duterte, the prospect of the Philippine Maidan is not excluded. Therefore, the question of improving the weapons of the army and the police is very acute in the country. It is not excluded that agreements on the supply of arms may be signed between Russia and the Philippines - and then Russian helicopters, armored personnel carriers and assault rifles will “talk” in the distant tropics of Southeast Asia.
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