Exclusive - Manny Villar Says Duterte's Foreign Policy Was Used By Singapore And Malaysia And Made Them Successful: 'What We Need Is A Pro-Filipino Foreign policy!'
https://trendingbible.blogspot.com/2016/10/exclusive-manny-villar-says-dutertes.html
With President Rodrigo Duterte's continuous reiterations with regards to the Philippines' new independent foreign policy, local and international medias were set ablaze.
However this approach of the President isn't the first time an Asian leader decided to distance themselves from the United States.
Former Senator Manny Villar reaffirmed this during an interview with Business Mirror. Villar pointed out former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who also used the same approach and declared an independent foreign policy during their reign in power.
The Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir also ditched Western Economic Policies and imposed death penalty for drug traffickers despite great conflicts such as the execution of foreign suspects. Malaysia's 'Look East' policy gave Malaysia the freedom to establish better relations both in terms of diplomacy and economics, with developed Asian countries such as Korea and Japan.
“During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when Asian countries readily obtained loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Mahathir refused to seek relief from the two US-led institutions and preferred domestic measures to survive the crisis,” said Villar.
As for Lee, the Singaporean Prime Minister established radical reforms in Singapore and stood his ground despite many criticisms from the West saying his ideas were repressive.
Lee's boldness helped Singapore in its huge leap from being a Third World Nation to a First World Country.
The former senator said these stories of success from Malaysia and Singapore help reassure investors whenever countries adopt a new and independent foreign policy.
Villar further defended the President saying the independent foreign policy does not aim to make enemies but promote the interest of the nation first before others.
“What we need, and what I believe the President wants to establish, is not a pro-US foreign policy or a pro-China foreign policy, but a pro-Filipino foreign policy. We can be friends with all countries because it serves our interest to do so."
