President Duterte Displays What Trump Foreign Policy Might Look Like

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been dubbed as the Donald Trump of Asia, as both politicians irked traditional allies and move closer to rivals.

Republican candidate Donald Trump has brought fear to some Americans as he showed his plans to build a wall between Mexico and United States, restricting immigrants entering the United States, and to force its allies to pay for American defense assistance.

World leaders slammed President Duterte because of his war against illegal drugs that caused the deaths of more than 3,600 suspected addicts and dealers. Further, he is revising the country’s foreign policies.

The two politicians may be different in so many ways, but have similarities in authoritarian leadership style. Duterte is a three-decade politician serving as mayor, prosecutor, congressman; while Trump is a billionaire who never held public office.

Duterte’s actions in the past few months showed the Americans an insight on what Trump presidency might look like.

Bridget Welsh, an international relations expert at National Taiwan University said, “Trump and Duterte are similar in their vulgarity, misogyny and in-your-face politics”. She added, “they also capitalize on similar sentiment—shake the system up, challenge the status quo and basically move beyond the norms of rule of law.”

Duterte also showed more favor to Chinese’s President Xi Jinping, convinced that the country’s future depends on Beijing. He stated, “only China can help us.” Trump on the other hand aggressively challenged the Asian superpower, which he considers a threat to U.S. economy’s growth.

But the two leaders show common characteristics in their willingness to reform the relationships with longstanding allies.

The United States is a long-time ally of the Philippines and viewed by most Filipinos as a friend. Yet, Duterte has been denouncing the American government, even calling Barack Obama “son of a whore.”

Trump denounced Angela Merkel for “ruining Germany” about her stand on refugees. He also suggested that he would support NATO allies only if they pay the United States for military assistance.

Both leaders have a tendency to react sharply to criticism. Duterte even threatened to withdraw its alliance with U.S. and U.N. after they chastised him over his drug war. And Trump, as Hillary Clinton emphasized in the three presidential debates, has a famously thin skin.

Both Trump and Duterte displays the same characteristics on foreign policy.

American officials criticized Duterte’s recent move to split with the U.S. in favor of China.   Even his own mentor former President Fidel Ramos had things to say about it.

“Are we throwing away decades of military partnership, tactical proficiency, compatible weaponry, predictable logistics and soldier-to-soldier camaraderie, just like that?” asked Ramos in a recent editorial.

While Trump shows a strong stance over foreign policy, he proposed establishing safe zones in Syria. He also suggested meeting Russian “provocative” moves with military forces if necessary. “He and I haven’t spoken, and he and I disagree,” Trump said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the second presidential debate.

“I expect there would be mass resignations from the State Department, from government if there’s a Trump presidency”. Welsh added, “He doesn’t have a foreign policy and he doesn’t have a foreign policy community with him. I think America would face a very significant crisis.”

Last, the biggest similarity between Trump and Duterte is their shoot-from-the-hip communication style. Both seems to say whatever comes to mind, and have a tendency to contradict their statements in the next.

Duterte’s recent contradicting statement leaves China, Japan, even the U.S. confused about where exactly he stands. If this happens to the President of the United States, every word he says would have a global significance especially on military and foreign affairs.

Uncertainty has its costs.

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Israel Wary of Obama’s Parting Present to Palestinians with Barely Three Months Left in Office

Washington threatened to re-evaluate U.S. policy to veto the U.N. Security Council resolution on Israel’s presence in the West Bank during the election for Israel’s Prime Minister last year. The threat stemmed from an interview of PM Benjamin Netenyahu who is seeking re-election. He said that there would be no Palestinian state as long as he is the Prime Minister. Natenyahu withdrew his statement after the elections when he was votes as Prime Minister. White House urged legislators nonetheless to make up options on how Obama could “preserve the two-state solution.”

The White House threat as of now has not yet materialized. Furthermore, the U.S. and Israel signed an agreement last month extending the U.S. subsidy of Israeli military. The agreed subsidy was for another 10 years. With the U.S. Focus on the Syrian conflict and the humanitarian emergency in Aleppo, as well as the current U.S. Presidential elections coming to a close, it seems that the Obama administration has its hands full.

Israel’s friends in Washington are privately worried with Obama’s intention to have an equal opportunity approach between Palestinians and Israelis before his term expires. Israel’s fear of a possible step by Obama may very well be plausible. 88 senators signed a letter to Obama asking him to re-evaluate the “long-standing U.S. policy” to veto anti-Israel resolutions at the U.N.

The White House has not released any statement with regard to the petition. The White House on the other hand has “strongly condemned” Israel for approving 98 new housing settlements in the West Bank. The U.S. has always opposed the construction of settlements in the West Bank from the beginning of the occupation. Israel had taken control of the land after the Six Day War in 1967. The U.S has not sanctioned Israel on the current settlement issue as of this time.

The Obama administration has several options it could take that can threaten Israeli occupation in the West Bank. Any policy that would be presented that could undermine Israel’s hold in the region would meet strong opposition. Obama has however faced similar opposition from Israel and its friends in Washington. The Iran nuclear deal had run through stiff opposition. The White house however, managed to put the bargain through Congress with just enough democratic support.

Time Running Out?

Obama would face a different scenario now as he only has three months before his term expires. The nuclear deal was pushed through as he had more than a year left in office. With Obama’s time in office running short, it remains to be seen how the democrats would react if he takes action against Israel’s settlement activity.

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