US still a trusted allyBut PH can’t forever be America’s little brown brother, Yasay saysForeign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said Thursday the Philippines still regards the US a trusted ally but will not accept lectures on human rights as a condition for receiving American help. … We have to develop, we have to grow and become the big brother of our own people.”“You (have to) manage it correctly. (AFP / Manila Bulletin)Yasay sought to reassure an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies about Manila’s commitment to positive relations with the United States, its former colonial power. He explained that Duterte’s opposition to joint maritime patrols with the United States concerned the Philippines’ “exclusive economic zone,” not joint patrols within 12 nautical miles of its coast. The latter patrols, aimed at preserving the territorial integrity of the Philippines, “must continue, because this is our commitment to the United States,” Yasay said.

Source: Manila Bulletin September 16, 2016 16:07 UTC