Story highlights
- White House spokesman: No request has been made to change alliance
- "I've realigned myself in your ideological flow," Duterte says in Beijing
(CNN)Rodrigo Duterte left no room for doubt about where his allegiance lies.
In a state visit aimed at cozying up to Beijing as he pushes away from Washington, the Philippine President announced his military and economic "separation" from the United States.
"America has lost now. I've realigned myself in your ideological flow," he told business leaders in Beijing on Thursday. "And maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world: China, Philippines and Russia. It's the only way."
Duterte didn't provide details about how he'd break away from the United States, or what the separation could entail.
US officials stressed the long history of diplomatic, military and financial ties between the two countries.
"We have not received any requests from officials to change our alliance," Deputy White House Press Secretary Eric Schultz told reports aboard Air Force One Thursday.
In China, leaders said they were ready to start a new chapter.
A gamble
Relations between China and the Philippines had soured over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea.
But now Duterte is taking a different tack, pushing that issue to the background as he tries to forge closer ties with China.
Will the gamble pay off?
So far, it seems to be, said Richard Javad Heydarian, a political science professor at De La Salle University, Manila.
The usually brash and outspoken Duterte appeared much more statesmanlike in China than he has on previous trips overseas, said Heydarian.
"Duterte has been careful not to slight his hosts, he's been very deferential to the Chinese. It's raised eyebrows in the Philippines but pleased people in China," he said.
Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
Speaking at a business forum in Manila in December 2016, Duterte admitted killing suspected criminals during his time as mayor of Davao City.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
The day after Trump won the US presidential election in November 2016, Duterte said he and Trump share some traits.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
After reports emerged of a potentially blocked arms sale, Duterte told CNN Philippines in November 2016 that he would turn to Russia for weapons.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
During a state visit to China in October 2016, Duterte announced his economic and military 'separation' from the US.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
In October 2016 Duterte expressed growing hostility with the US president.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
After US president Barack Obama said he would raise extrajudicial killings in a meeting with Duterte, the Philippines President responded angrily on September 5, first in English then in Tagalog. As a result, Obama canceled the meeting.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
As he addressed troops at the country's Armed Forces Central Command Headquarters on August 5, Duterte recounted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to the country, saying in Tagalog that he was feuding with U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
The Philippines president-elect effectively said he supported vigilantism against drug dealers and criminals in a nationally televised speech in June 2016.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
Foreign diplomats weighing in on Rodrigo Duterte's controversial remarks did not sit well with the then-mayor.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
Duterte apologized to the Pope after cursing him for the traffic he caused during a 2015 Papal visit to the Philippines.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
In September 2016, Duterte likened himself to the Nazi leader and announced that he wants to kill millions of drug addicts.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
Speaking at a press conference to unveil his new cabinet on May 31 2016, Rodrigo Duterte said journalists killed on the job in the Philippines were often corrupt.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
During the third and last presidential debate, Duterte had said that he would plant a Philippine flag in disputed territories should China refuse to recognize a favorable ruling for the Philippines.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
Duterte made international headlines in April 2016 with his inflammatory comments on the 1989 rape and murder of an Australian missionary that took place in Davao City.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
He also lashed out at the womens' group that filed a complaint against him before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
At a CNN Philippines Townhall event in February 2016, Duterte, admitted that he had three girlfriends and a common-law wife. His marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman was annulled due to his womanizing, but he denied this meant he objectified women.
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Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.
Although he later denied the accusations, the former Davao City mayor admitted his links to the alleged Davao death squad in a May 2015 broadcast of his local television talk show.
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Deals signed
Chinese President Xi Jingping welcomed Duterte with full military honors at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Thursday.
He called the two countries "neighbors across the sea" and said they'd agreed to achieve "full improvement" in bilateral ties, state media reported.
The two leaders signed some 13 bilateral deals including pacts on trade, investment, tourism, crime and drug prohibition, according to China's state news agency Xinhua.
However, there was no specific agreement about the South China Sea, where the two have overlapping maritime claims. They agreed to address the matter through talks, according to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin.
This man compares himself to Hitler 01:21
Pivot
Duterte's pivot toward China comes as relations with long-time ally the United States are at an all-time low.
At a news conference in Laos in September, he called US President Barack Obama a son of a bitch, when asked what he would say if Obama was critical about his anti-drug efforts, which critics say violate human rights. Since Duterte took office, hundreds of drug dealers and users have been killed in police operations.
The two leaders both attended the ASEAN summit a few days later. They didn't speak and only briefly shook hands.
Earlier in October, President Duterte confirmed that his country would not participate in joint military drills with the US that are set for next year. He did say, however, that the treaty alliance with the US would remain intact.
By contrast, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs praised Duterte's war on drugs this week, according to state broadcaster CCTV, saying he takes the fundamental interests and welfare of the Philippines' people into consideration.
It's unclear how Duterte's latest statement could alter ties with the United States.
Asked to respond to the announcement Thursday, US National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said the United States and the Philippines share a long list of security interests and a 70-year history of "rich people-to-people ties."
And the United States is one of the Philippines' strongest economic partners, she said. US companies have invested more than $4.7 billion in the Philippines.
Duterte tells Obama to 'go to hell' 02:05
Support?
Duterte has huge popularity ratings in the Philippines but his tilt away from Washington may not be supported by most Filipinos.
A recent opinion poll of 1,200 adults found that the trust rating of the United States stood at +66 compared with -33 for China.
"Duterte has made extra effort to sell China as a benevolent partner but it's a tough sell," said Heydarian.
Ties with China hit a low in July, when the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled that China's historical claim to the disputed waters was invalid.
China refused to participate in the tribunal's proceedings and, in the wake of the ruling, Chinese boycotted Philippines-grown dried mango.
It was a huge victory that Duterte has chosen not to capitalize on despite once pledging to ride into the South China Sea on a jet ski while carrying the Philippines flag.
Instead, said Heydarian, Duterte has chosen to focus on China's deeper pockets in the hope of lucrative trade deals.
