Tokyo: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte sought to assure Japan on Wednesday that his high-profile visit to China last week was about economics, not security, and vowed to stand on Tokyo’s side over the disputed South China Sea when the time came.
Earlier in the day, Duterte reiterated his harsh words for long-time ally Washington, saying he might end defence treaties.
The volatile Philippine leader’s visit to Japan comes amid jitters about his foreign policy goals after weeks of verbal attacks on ally the United States and overtures towards China.
Duterte last week announced in China his “separation” from the United States, but then insisted ties were not being severed and that he was merely pursuing an independent foreign policy.
His perplexing comments pose a headache for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has tightened ties with Washington while building closer security relations with Manila and other Southeast Asian countries as a counterweight to a rising China.
“You know I went to China for a visit. And I would like to assure you that all there was, was economics. We did not talk about arms. We avoided talking about alliances,” he told an audience of Japanese businessmen.
Duterte, speaking through a Japanese interpreter at the start of his talks with Abe, said he would stand on Japan’s side in the contentious matter of the South China Sea.
Both Tokyo and Washington have grown worried that the commitment under Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino, to stand up to China in the disputed South China Sea is under threat, although Japan has no direct territorial row with Beijing there.
Japan has a separate dispute with China over tiny, uninhabited isles in the East China Sea, and has been keen to stress the importance of the rule of law.
Duterte also said Wednesday he wants US troops out of his country in the next two years and is willing to scrap defence pacts with longtime ally Washington if necessary.
The comments follow a series of anti-American tirades by the firebrand leader.
“I want, maybe in the next two years, my country free of the presence of foreign military troops,” Duterte told an economic forum in Tokyo, in a clear reference to US forces.
“I want them out and if I have to revise or abrogate agreements, executive agreements, I will,” he added.
The US, which once operated sprawling bases in the country, now has a small number of Special Forces on the southern island of Mindanao to aid in counter-terrorism operations.
Duterte has previously said he wants US troops out of Mindanao because their presence stokes tensions on the island where Islamist militants have waged a decades-long separatist insurgency.
Duterte’s aides frequently attempt to walk back his controversial comments, and Wednesday was no exception.
Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, asked at a subsequent press conference to clarify the remarks, said that Duterte did not mean US troops would be ousted, stressing that “our national interests still continue to converge”.