WASHINGTON – US secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson backed off from publicly denouncing President Duterte for the mounting anti-drug killings in the Philippines until he had all the facts in hand. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in his questioning of Tillerson said since Duterte took office on June 30, police and vigilantes have killed about 6,200 people in the anti-drug war. When Rubio pressed Tillerson to state his view as to whether this was the right way to conduct an anti-drug campaign, the nominee pointed out that the US and the Philippines have a long-standing friendship. He said China’s building of artificial islands and putting military assets to those islands was akin to Russia’s taking of Crimea. “We have to send China a clear signal – that the island building stops and second, your access to those islands is also not allowed,” Tillerson said.

Source: Philippine Star January 12, 2017 16:43 UTC