Rodrigo Duterte was slated to meet with Obama as part of the American president’s visit to Asia until his tirade Monday led the White House to cancel.
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The remnants of the bombing campaign, along with the remains of the bombs themselves, are still scattered throughout the small southeast Asian nation.
The East Asia summit will be attended by the leaders of the 10 Asean nations and those of India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russian Federation.
The president, affectionately known to many Filipinos as “Rody”, also noted that 600,000 Muslim Filipinos, or Moros, were killed by USA military personnel during the pacification campaign that took place prior to the US withdrawal from the island.
Duterte, 71, unleashed a tirade this week when asked by a reporter what he would say if Obama questioned the killings of an estimated 2,000 suspected drug dealers and users under Duterte’s war on drugs, calling the president a “son of a bitch” (or son of a whore, depending on the translation).
Speaking to a reporter, the president also exclaimed “putang ina” – a Tagalog phrase that roughly translates to “son of a whore”, but is often used in a manner equivalent to “crap” or “shit” in a manner similar to the Spanish phrase hijo de puta.
He has previously used the epithet against Pope Francis, although he later apologized, and the USA ambassador to the Philippines.
Clinton, who as secretary of state was an architect of Obama’s policy of emphasizing the importance of the Asia Pacific to USA interests in the face of a rising China, said Obama was right to cancel the meeting. The next day a chastened Mr. Duterte appeared to have gotten the message: “We. regret [the remarks] came across as a personal attack on the USA president”, his office said in a statement issued Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, Duterte expressed regret over his “son of a bitch” remark while referring to Obama, in a rare display of contrition by a politician whose wide arc of profanities has unabashedly targeted world figures including the pope. “He expressed his deep regard and affinity for President Obama and for the enduring partnership between our nations”.
The comment that caused Mr Obama to postpone the meeting was certainly confrontational, although some of his supporters argue that the style was simply Mr Duterte’s robust manner of speech. “I would like to tell him that we are not angry because it is not his mistake, but we need help”.
He said that one area Asean should look at is its number of meetings, adding that he was happy that Laos is holding two back-to-back summits this year amid efforts to review working methods.
The White House had earlier said Obama would not pull any punches on his concerns about human rights abuses in the Philippines, its treaty ally, when meeting Duterte. “Farmers tending their fields, children playing”, Obama said in an address to the Laotian people today. He said Washington needed to maintain a sense of urgency within the worldwide community on sanctions against Pyongyang.
Obama announced that his administration would double spending to clear unexploded ordnance, committing $90 million over the next three years.
There the 10-member ASEAN will meet leaders of other regional powers: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Russia and the United States.
President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday failed to force a breakthrough in negotiations over a cease-fire for Syria, but agreed to keep looking for a path to provide humanitarian relief to thousands of besieged civilians in the civil war-ravaged country.
– Duterte in an August news briefing after a United Nations human rights expert said orders in his anti-crime crackdown violated worldwide law.
Duterte has poured scorn on critics of his uncompromising campaign, usually larding it with curses.
Duterte has previously cursed Pope Francis and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
He has accused a senator heading an inquiry into the killings of getting payoffs from drug lords. Philippine-China ties were strained under Mr Duterte’s predecessors due to territorial conflicts in the South China Sea.
De Lima said she had started receiving text messages from Filipinos in the United States who said “they were ashamed … that were being ridiculed by Americans”. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.
An global arbitration panel recently ruled that China’s expansive claims in the sea are illegal.
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“You must be respectful”, Duterte said of Obama.
