{UAH} Fox hails shared values with the Philippines ‘Punisher’

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• Article rank 
• 5 Apr 2017
• The Guardian
• Oliver Holmes Anushka Asthana Rowena Mason

Fox hails shared values with the Philippines 'Punisher'

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Liam Fox's declaration of "shared values" with Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, whose war on drugs has killed 7,000 people, has prompted dismay about the government's approach to human rights as it seeks post-Brexit trade deals.

Liam Fox greets the president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, in Manila

The international trade secretary, who will also visit Malaysia and Indonesia on his trip, said in an article published in local media that he wanted Britain to build a stronger relationship with the Philippines based on "a foundation of shared values and shared interests".

As Fox visited the country yesterday, Theresa May was in Saudi Arabia as part of a wider government effort to shore up the UK's trading position after Brexit. Speaking to the BBC, she refused to criticise the government's bombardment of Yemen, which is estimated to have killed more than 10,000 civilians and displaced more than 3 million people. May also declined to endorse the phrase "ethical foreign policy", telling reporters: "The May doctrine of foreign policy is that everything we do is in our British national interest."

In the Philippines, Fox insisted that Brexit would broaden the UK's outlook, arguing that the UK would emerge "a stronger, fairer, more united and more outward-looking nation".

A Whitehall source said Fox had raised concerns during his meeting with Duterte, who is nicknamed 'the Punisher'. They said the minister made clear that questions over human rights and corruption would act as a barrier to future trade opportunities. Nevertheless, the meeting with Duterte, who has publicly encouraged civilians to kill drug addicts and is somewhat of an international pariah, received heavy criticism.

As May flew into Saudi Arabia, also as part of the government's "global Britain" initiative, Philip Hammond, the chancellor, was in India to promote British business, while Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, met his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, in London.

But senior figures in Westminster alarmed by the trips to Saudi and the Philippines urged caution in the government's drive to build closer economic links further afield.

Harriet Harman, the Labour MP who chairs parliament's joint committee on human rights, said the government should never sacrifice core British principles when seeking new relationships. "There is a real danger that in our desperation to conclude trade deals respect for human rights, which is in every EU contract, will just go out of the window," she said. "The government must not let that happen."

The prime minister said her "May doctrine" was to do everything in the British national interest, including snapping up trade opportunities that could bring "jobs and prosperity to the UK". She said a separate focus of her trip to Saudi was counterterrorism cooperation, and insisted she always promoted British values.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, called on May to put human rights at the "centre of her talks" in the region, pointing out that a Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen had left thousands dead and millions in need of humanitarian help.

The shadow trade secretary, Barry Gardiner, warned about Fox's "association" with Duterte, who has said he personally killed criminals during his 22 years as a mayor of Davao city, including throwing one suspect to his death from a helicopter.

Gardiner said: "We want to expand trade with countries all around the world and it is right that the government should be pursuing that vigorously. But the thing you have to be very careful about is that we do not sacrifice fundamental principles in the process. It is frankly shocking that Liam Fox in his speech in the Philippines talked about the shared common values that we have.

"I'm sorry, but we do not have these shared common values with President Duterte who wants to bring back the death penalty and lower the age of criminal responsibility to nine."

The Philippines' international relations have become strained under Duterte. He lashed out at the UN for criticising him, labelling the body "stupid", and he called former US president Barack Obama a "son of a whore". Last month, he warned the EU not to "fuck with us" after the European parliament passed a resolution expressing "grave concern over credible reports" that Philippine police were engaged in extrajudicial killings, a claim strongly denied.

Fox said in his article that the UK and Philippines have a "well-established and strong relationship built on a foundation of shared values and shared interests and we want this partnership to continue to flourish".

He added that Philippine firms and investors should know the UK remains "open for business", according to the article, which the British embassy in Manila posted on Twitter. Philippine companies have invested more than £1bn into the UK since 2014, it said.

Fox's department was created after the EU referendum in an attempt to secure trade deals with non-EU countries.

On the day May trigged article 50, Fox "truly global Britain". He wrote: "From Australia to China, old friends and new allies alike are queuing up to renew their trading relationships with Britain."

The Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, Tom Brake, said: "Duterte is one of the 21st century's most sinister leaders and Liam Fox has flown halfway around the world to grovel to him. The fact that the first visit made by Fox since triggering article 50 is to the Philippines shows just how low this government is willing to stoop in order to secure even a minimal trade deal in the future."

A spokesperson for the Department for International Trade said: "We do not shy away from confronting barriers to trade and investment – including issues of human rights and corruption. Greater knowledge and understanding of one another will increase our ability to address those issues that concern us."

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