Philippine foreign secretary says U.S. has failed Philippines

Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said on Thursday that the United States has failed the Philippines, forcing President Rodrigo Duterte to break away from Washington.

Yasay made the comments in a statement posted on his Facebook page, saying, "This has compelled him (President Duterte) to realign our foreign policy towards an independent track in pursuing the overriding national interest."

The Philippine foreign secretary stressed the need to put an end to the Philippines' "subservience to the United States' interests."

"It has been 70 years ago since America acknowledged the hard-fought independence of its colony in Asia after it arrogated our victory in the struggle for freedom from 400 years of Spanish domination," he said.

"And yet," he added, "after proclaiming on July 4, 1946 that the Filipinos had been adequately trained for self determination and governance, the U.S. held on to invisible chains that reined us in towards dependency and submission as little brown brothers not capable of true independence and freedom."

Yasay decried what he described as "carrot and stick policy" that the U.S. employs to keep the Philippines' dependence on Washington. This policy "has been effectively used all through the long years since our independence to force Filipinos into submission to American demands and interests," he said.

"This is what (President Duterte) is now trying to liberate us from," Yasay said.

Yasay came out with the statement to clarify Duterte's position on the Philippine-U.S. relations.

Duterte has recently said that the Philippines, a treaty ally of the U.S., wants to "break up" with the U.S. "for failing us." Thus, he said that he is "reconfiguring" the Philippine foreign policy. Endit