Obama and Duterte may still interact more informally during the two-day summit in Laos, but there is slim chance Obama will be granting extended face-time to the controversial Philippine president.
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Duterte on Monday offered a particularly vivid description of how he would like to eat Abu Sayyaf militants, who killed 15 soldiers last month and are accused of a bombing in his home city last week that claimed 14 lives.
After Washington called off Tuesday’s bilateral meeting between Obama and Duterte in response, the Philippines issued two statements expressing regret.
“They first need to understand the problems that my country faces before they talk about human rights”, said Détente before he continued with making an infamous comment about the United States president.
President Duterte also criticized the United States’s human rights record and blamed the U.S. for civil unrest in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao, which has seen constant tension between the government, Muslim communities, and indigenous peoples for decades. An agreement backed by former president Benigno Aquino III, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, or EDCA, would place more US ships at Philippine ports. The U.S. has been a major financial supporter of the Philippine military effort.
When Duterte arrived in Laos that night, his tone had changed. “I didn’t know what had happened, but when I felt metal under my son’s shirt, I knew it was a bomb”. “I do not want to quarrel with (Mr Obama)”.
The White House, however, remained a bit indifferent. “There’s a protocol for that”, Duterte said. Aides said Obama’s visit will probably echo a stop in Hanoi, Vietnam, in May, when the president declared he was “mindful of the past, mindful of our hard history, but focused on the future”.
But by Tuesday, he had done a complete U-turn in the tone of his statement.
“We look forward to ironing out differences arising out of national priorities and perceptions”, the statement released on Tuesday read.
His remarks came after the White House officials said Obama in his meeting with him in Laos on Tuesday would confront about his country’s human rights record of handling drug traffickers.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called Barack Obama a “son of a whore” on Monday, September 5, as he vowed not to be lectured by the USA leader on human rights when they meet in Laos, where the Association of South-East Asian Nations summit is being held. He met with Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit, was feted at a welcome banqueted, where he toasted to a relationship he said would “mean greater progress and opportunity for the people of Laos”. Apparently addressing Obama, he added: “You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements”, Duterte said. “‘Putang ina” mo murahin kita diyan sa forum na “yan [son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum]”.
He lambasted the United Nations after it criticized the surge in killings and he turned down a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the Laos summit.
“Who is he (Obama) to confront me?”
China rejects those accusations, and in turn blames the United States for ratcheting up tensions unnecessarily.
The tidal wave of extrajudicial and vigilante killings is devastating the Philippines.
President Duterte explained the drug problem in the Philippines and how it could compromise the next generation. The first USA president to set foot in Laos while in office, Obama lamented that many Americans remain unaware of the “painful legacy” left behind.
Duterte has had a troublesome relation with the United States, questioning its inability to stop genocidal killings in the Middle East and Africa, and citing USA police shootings of black Americans that have set off protests.
They discussed issues surrounding the South China Sea where both countries have territorial disputes with China.
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Advancing 21st.
But the USA canceled the meeting early that day through diplomatic channels.
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“An invaluable occasion to have our leaders meet for the objective of discussing how to strengthen our comprehensive areas of cooperation would have been a golden opportunity”, del Rosario said.
