An exciting moment

After the invectives heaped by President Duterte on America’s former top diplomat in Manila, people think new US Ambassador Sung Kim must be walking on eggshells in dealing with the Philippine government.

The US envoy, however, was quite relaxed at his official residence yesterday, deftly navigating questions from four journalists that might put him in the crosshairs of Dirty Rody even as he stood by democratic values long associated with the United States.

Kim will have an easier time than his predecessor Philip Goldberg because President Duterte sees US counterpart Donald Trump as a friend who had told him in a recent phone conversation that he was doing the right thing in his vicious war on drugs.

As we saw the other day, Duterte also admires and even envies Trump.

Reflecting Trump’s position, US State Secretary-nominee Rex Tillerson also told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing that he was reserving judgment on the Philippines’ war on drugs until he had all the relevant “facts from the ground” about the campaign.

Instead Tillerson committed a continuation of his country’s “longstanding friendship” with the Philippines under the Trump administration.

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What Kim will find himself needing to explain to Filipinos is how to reconcile his country’s long-held tradition of championing human rights and the free market of goods and ideas with the Trump administration’s support for a government whose drug war has seen over 6,000 people killed in just over six months.

Before joining the Foreign Service, Kim worked as a prosecutor in Los Angeles, which has a serious drug problem, so he says he understands Duterte’s concern over the drug menace. Kim said he expressed this during two long and “productive” discussions with Duterte and several meetings with key Philippine officials including Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr.

Kim admits concern over the way the drug war is being carried out, but he stressed this would not stop the long-running bilateral law enforcement cooperation against the drug menace.

“While everybody acknowledges that there is a very serious drug problem, there is also concern that some aspects of the anti-drug campaign has flaws,” Kim told us.

But he emphasized that Washington would not tell Manila how to conduct the campaign against illegal drugs.

“I hope people will not view this as somehow an American concern being imposed on the Philippines,” Kim said. “My sense is this is a concern for many people. So I think it’s a mistake to portray this as a US versus Philippines issue.”

He dismissed “categorically, confidently” as “total nonsense” recent media reports about a US “blueprint” supposedly drawn up during Goldberg’s stint in Manila to oust Duterte over human rights violations.

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Kim will likely find himself being asked not only to reconcile traditional US democratic values with Washington’s support for the Duterte administration, but also to explain policies and pronouncements of the new US president.

It’s not exactly like the role of the “firefighters” of the Duterte administration, but Kim will have his hands full explaining Trump’s policies and pronouncements.

Yesterday, as Trump issued his first executive order, withdrawing his country from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and validating his “America first” protectionist promise, Kim said the US remains committed to free trade and fair global trade rules. He said the Philippines should find this encouraging.

Both Duterte and Trump were elected in free, democratic elections, Kim pointed out. The US respects the Philippine democratic process, he said, noting that Duterte attained the presidency in an “impressive” victory.

In the US, even the anti-Trump marches after his inaugural validated the democratic process, Kim said.

“President Trump won the election, there’s no question about it. He’s the president of the United States,” Kim told us. “His election validates the democratic process that we have.”

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Kim, an ethnic South Korean, visited the Philippines for the first time as a young diplomat 25 years ago, and remembers thinking that he wanted to be posted in this country.

“I’m thrilled to be here as US ambassador,” he told us at the start of our meeting yesterday.

He arrived in Manila as the two countries were in what he described as a “rough patch.”

“But I’m confident that relations are getting back on track. I believe both sides remain committed to this relationship,” he said.

Noting concerns and speculations about the future of bilateral relations and the fate of Filipinos in the US who might be affected by new immigration policies, he urged the public to wait for the Trump administration to get settled. The new US president, Kim stressed, has not yet even completed his Cabinet.

What matters is that the US will continue its strong engagement in the Asia-Pacific, Kim said.

“I’m convinced that there continues to be very strong bipartisan support and interest in US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region,” he told us. “Frankly, we will be foolish not to remain engaged… of course the US will stay engaged.”

Looking on the bright side, he says, “This is an exciting moment for US-Philippine relationship.”