At his first Asean Summit in Vientiane in July, Duterte claimed “the Philippines does not need cooperation with Asean”. Most tragically, Duterte’s domestic policies challenge a fundamental norm within Asean, namely that of rule by law instead of rule of law. How can Duterte’s belittling of Asean be explained? Unlike his predecessors, Duterte sees Asean as useless in strengthening Filipino sovereignty in relation to an external power, namely China. Like Donald Trump, a self-proclaimed xenophobic outsider defying political conventions, Asean is irrelevant (and perhaps even detrimental) to strengthening his grip on domestic political power.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 28, 2016 18:06 UTC