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| President Rodrigo Duterte |
Firebrand Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte heads to China next week seeking billions of dollars in investments and buckets of respect, as he pivots angrily away from traditional ally the United States.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to give the mercurial leader a warm welcome, after Duterte threatened to end a decades-long alliance with the United States and gave Beijing a timely boost in its quest for more control over the strategically vital South China Sea.
Duterte, 71, has said he is trying to wean the Philippines off an unhealthy reliance on its former colonial ruler, although he has signalled the shift is also due to his outrage at US criticism of his deadly war on crime.
Analysts believe Duterte's attraction to a rising China is typical of his ultra-pragmatic governing style, following repeated speeches from him highlighting what he believes is the United States' diminishing economic and military might.
"He is a results-oriented person, Machiavellian, too," University of the Philippines political science professor Clarita Carlos told AFP.
"The guy knows if he can find markets for our bananas, pineapples, and create employment, whether it's China, Russia or Mali, that's where we are going. Whatever works."
Duterte is bringing along a delegation of hundreds of businessmen, including many of the Philippines' most powerful tycoons, in a bid to capitalise on the warming of relations that have taken place due to his efforts to placate Beijing on the South China Sea row.
China claims nearly all of the strategically vital sea, even waters approaching the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations, and has in recent years built artificial islands in the disputed areas that are capable of hosting military bases.
Read the full story at SpaceDaily