DAVAO, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday he may turn down an invitation by Donald Trump to visit the United States, as he welcomed three Chinese warships to his home town.
Duterte, who has loosened the Philippines’ long alliance with the US while strengthening ties with China and Russia, said he could not commit to the American president because of a busy schedule that included a trip to Moscow.
“I am tied up. I cannot make any definite promise. I am supposed to go to Russia, I am supposed to go to Israel,” he told reporters when asked about Trump’s invitation made in a telephone call on Saturday.
Duterte expressed concerns about not being able to fit in a visit to Trump even though no firm date has yet been proposed for it.
Nevertheless, Duterte said relations with the US were improving now that Trump had taken over from Barack Obama, who Duterte said imposed American values publicly on the Philippines and criticized his drug war.
The US is the Philippines’ former colonial ruler and the nations are bound by a mutual defense treaty.
“It was not a distancing (of relations between the US and us) but it was rather a rift between me and the (US) State Department and Mr Obama, who spoke openly against me,” he said.
“Things have changed, there is a new leadership. He wants to make friends, he says we are friends so why should we pick a fight?”
‘Confidence building’
Duterte’s comments came shortly after he visited three Chinese warships visiting his home town, the southern city of Davao on Mindanao island.
“This is part of confidence-building and goodwill and to show we are friends and that is why I welcome them,” he said.
Duterte has pursued closer relations with China, with whom the Philippines has a territorial dispute.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea.
Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also have claims in the sea.
On Sunday Duterte issued a chairman’s statement, after hosting a 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, which took a soft stance toward Chinese actions in the sea.
Duterte on Monday also repeated that he was open to joint military exercises between the Philippines and China.
“I said I agree. There can be joint exercises,” said Duterte, who has scaled back regular war games with the US. (Agence France Presse)