President Barack Obama and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met informally on Wednesday days after the Duterte branded the US President a “son of a whore”.
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Speaking in Laos at the end of the second of two Asian summits, Obama said the tycoon’s lack of leadership credentials was exposed whenever he spoke and American voters were aware of that.
The start of the trip was overshadowed by tense moments on the tarmac when Chinese officials clashed with White House aides and appeared to have failed to secure a staircase for Obama’s plane – moments that exploded on social media.
“They met at the holding room and they were the last people to leave the holding room”.
“When the president of the Philippines insulted our president, it was appropriate in a very low-key way to say: sorry, no meeting”, she told reporters on her campaign plane. But he says the US wants these disputes to be resolved peacefully and will keep working to help make that happen. The basis for this relationship is historical and both leaders realise this.
Duterte’s drive has won popular support at home but the killings have drawn expressions of concern from the United States, a close Philippine ally, and the United Nations.
One report published in 2013 by Time Magazine refers to the Philippines as one of the nations who view the us positively in contrast with others over the outside world’s view of the United States’ foreign affairs.
Prior to the East Asia Summit – bringing together leaders from Japan, South Korea, China, Russia, India, Australia and New Zealand – Filipino Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar attributed Duterte’s absence to a headache.
Obama tells reporters in Laos that he thinks diplomacy is “serious business” and that Trump’s ideas are often “contradictory” and “outright wacky”. Washington has been so liberal about criticizing human rights, human rights and human rights. “So… people who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others”.
Duterte missed a scheduled one-on-one with Obama, who postponed the meeting after the brash Philippine leader called him a “son of a bitch” in a pre-departure speech and threatened to swear at him if the USA leader raised concerns over Duterte’s bloody crackdown on illegal drugs.
A formal meeting between the leaders was cancelled after the spat, though Mr Duterte later expressed regret for his comments.
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“I can’t say how long they met”. So, again, given that focus, we felt that it wasn’t the right time to have a bilateral meeting between the two Presidents.
