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Marcos Jnr on ‘reintroducing’ Philippines to the world, ‘treading fine line’ between US-China and Duterte’s drug war
- The president said Manila, which wants to strengthen ties with both the US and China, do not subscribe to the old Cold War ‘spheres of influence’
- Marcos added the pandemic-battered country needs to find a fruitful path and follow it; he also criticised those behind Duterte’s crackdown, saying ‘his people went too far sometimes’
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Looking to “reintroduce the Philippines” to the world, new President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has ambitious plans for his nation on the international stage and at home – if, that is, the twin spectres of pandemic and climate change can be overcome or at least managed.
And if he can surmount the legacies of two people: his predecessor, and his father.
He also wants to strengthen ties with both the United States and China – a delicate balancing act for the Southeast Asian nation – and, like many of his fellow leaders at the United Nations this week, called on the countries that have caused global warming to help less wealthy nations counteract its effects.
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Marcos, swept into office this spring, is already drawing distinctions both subtle and obvious between himself and his voluble predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who alienated many international partners with his violent approach to fighting drug trafficking and the coarse rhetoric he used to galvanise supporters.
Asked if Duterte went too far with his lethal drug crackdown, Marcos redirected the criticism toward those who carried out the plan.
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“His people went too far sometimes,” Marcos said on Friday. “We have seen many cases where policemen, other operatives, some were just shady characters that we didn’t quite know where they came from and who they were working for. But now we’ve gone after them.”
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