MANILA, Philippines – Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely urged the Philippines to keep close relations with both the United States and China as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vows to move away from Washington and closer to Beijing. 

“Australia, like the Philippines, is an ally of the United States, and we’re also a close friend of the Philippines. We also have a very close relationship with China. We don’t see the need to choose between our alliance with the United States and our strong bilateral relationship with China,” Gorely said in an interview with ANC on Monday, October 24.

“And we very much hope that the Philippines pursues a similar course to the one that we have taken,” Gorely said.

America’s top diplomat for East Asia, US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, also said on Monday, “We don’t want countries that have to choose between the US and China.” 

This comes after Duterte initially said he is cutting economic and military ties with the US – a statement that the President later clarified does not mean a “severance of ties.”

In a separate interview on Monday, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop added, “The Philippines has benefited from the US presence as well, and I hope that President Duterte acknowledges that under the US security guarantee, many of us have been able to build our economies, build our societies in relative peace and security.”

Bishop explained, “The message I get from leaders in the region in the Asia Pacific is that they want to see more United States engagement, more US leadership, not less.”

“Many nations have benefited enormously from the US presence, including Australia and, I would say, including the Philippines,” she said. 

Bishop then described the US as “the indispensable partner and security guarantor.” She said, “We want to encourage nations to embrace more US engagement.” – Rappler.com