When in China, it is to sever ties but when in Philippines, it is only to separate.
President Rodrigo Duterte, upon his arrival to the Philippines from a four-day state visit in China, said that he is not cutting ties with the United States of America but only wants to separate from the superpower.
In a press conferece, Duterte said that his declaration to separate from US in the aspect of economic and military ties did not mean to sever or cut the bilateral relations between the US and the Philippines.
He further clarified that what he meant when he said “to separate” was about being independent from the dictates of the United States rather than a severance of bilateral relationship.
“You have to take my word in the contect of what I’ve been saying all along. It’s not severance of ties because in severance of ties, you have to cut diplomatic relations. I cannot do that”, said Duterte upon arrival from his state visit to the country’s Communist neighbor.
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