Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:11:00 04/02/2011
WASHINGTON—The United States on Thursday voiced support for the Philippines after China’s execution of three Filipinos on drug charges in defiance of repeated appeals.
“I believe that this is something that we will want to support our Filipino friends on,†Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, told Congress in response to questions by Rep. Ed Royce, a Republican whose district in Southern California has many Filipino-Americans.
Campbell said he would speak with Philippine officials in coming days.
“It’s fairly unusual in Asia when a government makes a very, almost personal, appeal at the very highest levels,†Campbell said.
“I think you know how strongly the Philippine government and President Benigno Aquino III’s own Cabinet felt about this issue. To be turned away in such a manner, I think it was a little bit of a surprise to Filipino friends,†he said.
But he added that he was not suggesting that the three should have gone unpunished.
The Philippine government had pressed China to spare the lives of drug trafficking convicts Elizabeth Batain, Ramon Credo and Sally Villanueva, saying they were victims of drug syndicates.
In December, Mr. Aquino said the Philippines had skipped the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in hopes of persuading Beijing.
The United States has a long-standing alliance with the Philippines, a former US colony. A number of Asian nations have recently sought closer ties with Washington amid concerns over a rising China.
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