State Department upbeat on PHL relations despite ‘concerns’

Despite US concerns over extra-judicial killings and President Rodrigo Duterte's plan not to appoint an ambassador to the United States, the US State Department said on Friday that it aimed to further strengthen Philippine-US relations.

On the sidelines of the US-Philippine Bilateral Relations Reporting Tour 2017, Deputy State Department Spokesperson Mark Toner said, "The willingness of the United States to work constructively with the Philippines remains."

"I can say that we will sometimes have concerns certainly about Human Rights. But we also believe, we have a relationship in the Philippines where we can talk about some of these areas of concern, at the same time that we pursue a very productive and forward-looking bilateral relationship," Toner explained.

As to Duterte's rhetoric on the US and how this would affect relations with US President Donald Trump, Toner said that the Philippines and the United States had  long cultural, economic and historic ties which would continue.

"Security, economic, political: it’s a relationship that we value. And what I can say unequivocally is that we’re going to continue to work productively with the Philippines where we can," he added.

Changing tone on human rights

Meanwhile, Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that the current US administration's "constantly changing the tone" on human rights issues was noticeable.

"It's interesting that Duterte stopped his harsh criticism of the US, but the US also stopped its harsh criticism of the Philippines," said CSIS South East Asia Program Deputy Director Murray Hiebert. "I get the feeling, listening to [US Secretary of State Rex] Tillerson and listening to Trump, that human rights and democracy issues are gonna be less of an emphasis."

Though the easing of tensions was positive development, Hiebert added that it was nevertheless important that the "similar" leaders Duterte and Trump should meet face-to-face.

In contrast Duterte's relationship with Trump, former US President Barrack Obama had strongly criticized the alleged human rights violations committed during the first few months of Duterte's war on drugs.

Duterte responded to Obama's criticisms with profanity-laced statements, and threatened to cut ties with the United States. —DVM, GMA News