Topic: rodrigo duterte

The pivot to Asia piloted by President Barack Obama has been rocked by setbacks that should concern everyone who believes that the United States must maintain a robust role in the Pacific at a time of China’s intensifying quest for power and influence.

Standing with China, Duterte looks new and different, bold and fast, a man ready to gamble, to junk a decades-old alliance in favor of a partnership with a decades-old rival.

“If I make it to the presidential palace,” [Duterte] said, “I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, holdup men, and do-nothings, you better get out because I’ll kill you.”