‘It is significant that Duterte has accepted this invitation, because only three countries from ASEAN have been invited to the meeting: the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.’
FROM Malacañan Palace came the confirmation on Tuesday that President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted United States President Joe Biden’s invitation for him to participate in the US-sponsored Summit for Democracy.
The high-level meeting of invited heads of state and government is scheduled to take place virtually from Dec. 9 to 10, 2021.
Malacañang said President Biden has invited heads of state and government, global leaders, and voices from the business and non-government sectors to join the US in taking action to strengthen democracy. In his invitation letter to Duterte, Biden said the US will “host the Summit for Democracy with humility and in the spirit of mutual learning.”
Biden stressed that together, the Philippines and US will “embark on the work necessary to shape a prosperous and peaceful future built on respect for the rights and aspirations of all people.”
It is significant that Duterte has accepted this invitation, because only three countries from ASEAN have been invited to the meeting: the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. The others — Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, and Singapore — compose the non-invitees for various reasons, among them the existence of one-party state, military rule, and low democracy rating. Singapore, an important economic partner of the US, was also shunned presumably because it questioned the recent United Kingdom-US-Australia submarine patrol alliance in the South China Sea. Sri Lanka and Hong Kong which had high democracy ratings were also left out. Pakistan which has the lowest democracy score in the Asia-Pacific region had to be invited because its arch-rival India was in the list.
Since this is Biden’s picture of what democracy should be, China and Russia were excluded, as expected, but Taiwan’s inclusion in the guest list was a problem because the US does not officially recognize Taiwan. This territory will be represented only by its Digital Minister.
Duterte may well attend Biden’s Summit for Democracy to dispel the anti-Filipino propaganda raised by several American senators that the Philippines does not respect human rights and had no working justice system.
It is also a rare opportunity for Duterte to thank Biden for the invaluable assistance of American vaccines donated and/or sold to the country during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
