This Could Be the Country that Arms The Philippines if Rodrigo Duterte Dumps America

Johan Nylander

Security, Asia

Business delegation led by Sweden’s Minister of Enterprise will coincide with November opening of new embassy in Manila.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-American outbursts have made US businesses in the country increasingly worried about their future. For Swedish companies, the outlook seems quite different.
In early November, a business delegation led by Sweden’s Minister of Enterprise and Innovation Mikael Damberg will arrive to coincide with the opening of the country’s new embassy in the capital Manila.
At the same time, defence contractor Saab Group is opening a new office in Manila and is reportedly in pole position to secure a deal to sell its JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft to the Philippine Air Force. Trade promoter Business Sweden may also open a new office in the country.

During a visit to Beijing this week, Duterte said it was “time to say goodbye” to the US and that military exercises between the two countries should end. If that wasn’t clear enough, Duterte has previously told US President Barack Obama to “go to hell.” An anti-American demonstration outside the US embassy ended violently on Wednesday with dozens of people arrested and many injured.

Ebb Hinchliffe, head of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, told Reuters that Duterte’s statements have unnerved American businesses. US trade delegations in technology, financial services and manufacturing have canceled trips in recent weeks, he said. At least two American companies have chosen to do business in Vietnam instead “because of the president’s anti-American sentiment.”

“Every time he opens his mouth and says something negative about America, that hurts me personally… and from a business standpoint, it’s not helping,” he said in the Reuters interview.

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