President Duterte explained the drug problem in the Philippines and how it could compromise the next generation.
Advertisement
Addressing the ASEAN business and investment summit Tuesday, Duterte was garbed in Barong Tagalog but rolled up his sleeves.
“There’s no [diplomatic crisis] as far as we can see”, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in an interview in Vientiane, Laos when asked if the cancelled meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and US President Barack Obama created a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
“When the president of the Philippines insulted our president, it was appropriate and a very low-key way to say: sorry, no meeting”, she told reporters on her campaign plane.
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) is welcome by Laos President Bounnhang Vorachith at the Presidential Palace in Vientiane, Laos, September 6, 2016.
The East Asia Summit the same day will be attended by leaders of the 10 Asean nations and those of India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russian Federation.
He has previously called the pope a “son of a whore” and the us ambassador a “gay son of whore”.
After Washington called off Tuesday’s bilateral meeting between Obama and Duterte in response to his latest comment, the Philippines issued two statements expressing regret and also briefed reporters.
“Our ties with the countries of South East Asia are truly historic”, Modi stated.
An arbitration court in The Hague in July invalidated China’s territorial claims after a case was brought by the Philippines, a ruling Beijing refuses to recognize. The U.S. also provides hundreds of millions of dollars in annual financial assistance to the Philippine military.
However, last week’s bombing by ISIS-linked Abu Sayyaf in Davao – the city he was mayor of for more than two decades – prompted him to declare a state of emergency and set his sights firmly on the terrorists.
He may also need to be reminded that for decades, the United States has maintained strong bilateral relations with the Philippines, based on a number of factors including robust domestic support for global security, joint strategic goals in the Asia Pacific, a mutual commitment to democratic values, and historical ties. In that exchange, he warned Obama to “not just throw questions” at him during their meeting, and reminded the American president “we have long ceased to be a colony”.
Obama said America’s interest in the Asia-Pacific isn’t new and is not a passing fad.
Former U.S. officials said China would be pleased by the U.S. -Philippines friction.
While the presidential spokesperson could not also say if Duterte would apologize to Obama over his harsh words against the United States leader, Abella said he is expecting that the anticipated meeting of the two would be “civil and warm”.
There are now 300,000 American citizens living in the Philippines and millions of Filipinos in the U.S. This is one of the most enduring aspects of the US-PH partnership, the binding and personal ties between people.
Advertisement
Over the years, relations between China and ASEAN have been characterized by mutual benefits and shared profits, he said, adding that their common interests greatly outweigh their differences.
