Duterte is dragging PHL into US-China spat — Communist Party of the Philippines

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Thursday said President Rodrigo Duterte is dragging the Philippines in the middle of the spat between US and China.

"Duterte's claims that he does not want the Philippines to be dragged into a possible break-out of war in the South China Sea are belied by his actions," the CPP said in a statement.

"In fact, his puts the country at great risk of getting caught right in between a likely outbreak of armed hostilities between the American and Chinese imperialists," it added.

The group also enumerated Duterte's failures, that is, his "shameless subservience to the US, sell-out of Philippine sovereignty to China and inability to pursue a policy of active peace has led to his failure to oppose the militarization of SCS (South China Sea)  by both powers."

These "failures" have put the country at risk to become "potential battlegrounds, both as targets and platform of war to the detriment of the Filipino people's national sovereignty."

"Amid heightening US and China economic and military tensions and worsening crisis of the world capitalist system, the Philippines is becoming both a tool and target of both imperialist powers," the CPP said.

GMA News Online is getting a reaction from the Office of the President as of posting time.

In their statement, the CPP maintained Duterte is set in the surrender of the country's rights to China, citing the administration's plans of signing an exploration deal and the President's talk of co-ownership in the contested region.

The group hit the President's choice "not to raise a whimper of protest."

Duterte was also scored for, among others, going on a binge of entering into loan agreements with China and the choice of a Chinese Telecom franchise to operate in the country.

On the other hand, the CPP believes the President is likewise complicit in the "US parallel militarization" of the disputed waters.

The group cited US warships being able to dock in the Philippines and allowed the US to tighten its operational control of the Armed Forces of the Philippines through so-called joint trainings and supply of US weapons. — BAP, GMA News