President Duterte: 'Who is the US to ban the Philippines from buying Russian weapons?'
"Who are you to warn us?" - The Philippine President said harshly in a speech in Davao City, VTC quoted RT as saying.
According toRT,Mr. Duterte expressed anger at the statement of US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs, Randall Schriver, when he said that the Philippines "should think carefully" about buying submarines and other weapons from Russia because it would affect the alliance between Washington and Manila.
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| Philippine President Duterte. Photo: Sputnik |
"Why? Why are you stopping other countries? Why are you stopping us?… You warn us, who are you to warn us?" the Philippine president said sharply in a speech in Davao City, according toInquirer.net.
"You will meet me in a forum. You have to explain why you are stopping us from getting the Russian submarine. You have to tell us why and make it public.", Philippine Presidentspeak.
"Is this how you treat an ally? And you still want us to be by your side all the time?" Mr. Duterte continued, saying he would like to ask the US President the same question "if I meet him."RTquoted Mr. Duterte.
He accused the US of trying to hold back the Philippines from modernizing its defense. However, the Philippine president also appeared to "reassure" Washington by saying that he would not use weapons purchased from Russia against any country.
Duterte also criticized the US for selling refurbished helicopters to Manila, some of which were broken. "While countries like Russia and China only donate used equipment to the Philippines without ever asking us for even a paper clip."
According toRT,Moscow and Manila signed a military cooperation agreement in 2017, with Russia providing more than 5,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles to the Philippines free of charge to help it fight an insurgency. The Philippine government plans to buy submarines, patrol boats, helicopters and armored vehicles from Russia.
In August 2018, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano asserted that US pressure would not deter them from buying weapons, calling it a "test of our resolve for an independent foreign policy."
Recently, Washington has also been trying to persuade India and Türkiye to stop buying Russia's S-400 missile defense system, but has been rejected by New Delhi and Ankara.
