Analyst warns Duterte vs making remarks that can be misinterpreted

A foreign affairs analyst warned President Rodrigo Duterte against making pronouncements that could be misinterpreted by other countries.

ANC resident analyst Richard Heydarian said President Duterte's statements during his state visits to Bahrain and Qatar that Manila is ready to send troops to "protect and defend" the Gulf states may be "misconstrued" by other countries in the region.

"I'm not sure what the President is talking about because this is a very sensitive region. And as you may know, Bahrain has some tension with its northern neighbor (Iran) and I hope that statement will not be misconstrued by other countries in the region with whom we also have good relationship," he said in an interview on ANC.

Heydarian, however, noted that he thinks Duterte meant his pronouncements in a "good-hearted way" since there are thousands of Filipino workers in the Gulf states.

On Sunday, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon clarified the President's remarks, saying Manila can send troops for military training but not to engage in combat.

--ANC Early Edition April 17 2017