MANILA: “It’s about time.” That was international security analyst Stephen Cutler’s “first reaction” to Thursday’s news that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had formally terminated peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and communist rebels the National Democratic Front-Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (NDF-CPP-NPA).
Cutler, who was formerly the legal attaché of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Manila, told Arab News, “In my view, this is a long overdue action by the Philippine government.”
Peace talks with the insurgents — who have been waging war against the GRP for nearly half a century — have been going on, albeit intermittently, for more than two decades.
Since they began, in 1986 during President Corazon Aquino’s regime, more than 40 rounds of talks have been conducted between the GRP and the NDF-CPP-NPA, according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
But, as Cutler pointed out, the rebels do not recognize the legitimacy of the GRP, and have for years displayed a lack of sincerity in dealing with the government. In fact, Cutler suggested, their recent activities have shown that they are more interested in full political power in the Philippines.
“That’s why there’s no way to negotiate with them,” he explained. “So why even go through the charade – except to have the government pay for free trips wherever they hold the negotiations? The communists are not sincere. There’s no way that they’re going to agree to anything that the government says.”
He added that Duterte’s Proclamation No. 360 (announcing the cessation of the peace talks) is “a statement of reality.”
Cutler warned, though, that it would be no surprise if the NPA — the armed wing of the CPP — were to step up its attacks on government troops, police, and civilians in retaliation.
All units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are already on high alert for such eventualities, according to AFP spokesperson Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla.
However, even if such attacks take place, Cutler said they would only validate the president’s decision. “So they run the risk of either reinforcing what (the president) has done, or having to accept it.”
And with peace talks officially terminated, Cutler said, Duterte is no longer constrained by the need to ensure the rebels would still participate in the peace process, meaning the GRP can now pursue the rebels more aggressively.
So now, he said, the government can really go after the rebels, take them to court, and arrest them, especially if they kill people and commit other criminal offenses.
“It’s not for political advantage. It’s for criminal offense,” Cutler said.
The security analyst adds, though, that fighting the rebels — whether physically or in court — cannot be the sole focus of the government’s response.
“I think what the government needs to do is (launch) a social-reform program where they are providing good schools, credible elections, and credible government services in areas that are heavily (influenced) by the NPA,” Cutler said. “By doing that, you are destroying the NPA’s argument, which is essentially that the government is illegitimate and can’t do what the state ought to be doing,” he continued.
“Drugs and corruption,” Cutler suggested, are two of the key things “that allow the NPA to move forward.” So Duterte “is going to have to start doing some work with anti-corruption.”
Ultimately, Cutler sees the official termination of the talks as a great opportunity for the president.
“This is across the board offering, or allowing, (Duterte) to change the way he governs in the NPA areas,” he said.
End of peace talks offers Duterte new beginning in Communist areas
End of peace talks offers Duterte new beginning in Communist areas
Starmer arrives in China to defend ‘pragmatic’ partnership
- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, hoping to restore long fraught relations
BEIJING: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, hoping to restore long fraught relations.
It is the first visit to China by a UK prime minister since 2018 and follows a string of Western leaders courting Beijing in recent weeks, pivoting from a mercurial United States.
Starmer, who is also expected to visit Shanghai on Friday, will later make a brief stop in Japan to meet with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
For Xi, the trip is an opportunity to show Beijing can be a reliable partner at a time when President Donald Trump’s policies have rattled historic ties between Washington and its Western allies.
Starmer is battling record low popularity polls and hopes the visit can boost Britain’s beleaguered economy.
The trip has been lauded by Downing Street as a chance to boost trade and investment ties while raising thorny issues such as national security and human rights.
Starmer will meet with Xi for lunch on Thursday, followed by a meeting with Premier Li Qiang.
The British leader said on Wednesday this visit to China was “going to be a really important trip for us,” vowing to make “some real progress.”
There are “opportunities” to deepen bilateral relations, Starmer told reporters traveling with him on the plane to China.
“It doesn’t make sense to stick our head in the ground and bury in the sand when it comes to China, it’s in our interests to engage and not compromise on national security,” he added.
China, for its part, “is willing to take this visit as an opportunity to enhance political mutual trust,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun reiterated Wednesday during a news briefing.
Starmer is the latest Western leader to be hosted by Beijing in recent months, following visits by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Faced with Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on Canada for signing a trade agreement with China, and the US president’s attempts to create a new international institution with his “Board of Peace,” Beijing has been affirming its support for the United Nations to visiting leaders.
Reset ties
UK-China relations plummeted in 2020 after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong, which severely curtailed freedoms in the former British colony.
They soured further since with both powers exchanging accusations of spying.
Starmer, however, was quick to deny fresh claims of Chinese spying after the Telegraph newspaper reported Monday that China had hacked the mobile phones of senior officials in Downing Street for several years.
“There’s no evidence of that. We’ve got robust schemes, security measures in place as you’d expect,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
Since taking the helm in 2024, Starmer has been at pains to reset ties with the world’s second-largest economy and Britain’s third-biggest trade partner.
In China, he will be accompanied by around 60 business leaders from the finance, pharmaceutical, automobile and other sectors, and cultural representatives as he tries to balance attracting vital investment and appearing firm on national security concerns.
The Labour leader also spoke to Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil in November 2024.
Jimmy Lai
The prime minister is also expected to raise the case of Hong Kong media mogul and democracy supporter Jimmy Lai, 78, a British national facing years in prison after being found guilty of collusion charges in December.
When asked by reporters about his plans to discuss Lai’s case, Starmer avoided specifics, but said engaging with Beijing was to ensure that “issues where we disagree can be discussed.”
“You know my practice, which is to raise issues that need to be raised,” added Starmer, who has been accused by the Conservative opposition of being too soft in his approach to Beijing.
Reporters Without Borders urged Starmer in a letter to secure Lai’s release during his visit.
The British government has also faced fierce domestic opposition after it approved this month contentious plans for a new Chinese mega-embassy in London, which critics say could be used to spy on and harass dissidents.
At the end of last year, Starmer acknowledged that China posed a “national security threat” to the UK, drawing flak from Chinese officials.
The countries also disagree on key issues including China’s close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the war in Ukraine, and accusations of human rights abuses in China.
