Duterte is expected to participate in the summit’s closing ceremony, during which Laos will pass on the rotational presidency to the Philippines, which will be in charge in in 2017 as ASEAN will mark its 50th anniversary then.
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Two Philippine Cabinet officials said Duterte did not criticize any country or leader by name in his speech.
He said that in recent years, the US and Asia had solidified “unprecedented” cooperation that will create more prosperity for their peoples.
The leaders were supposed to meet one-on-one on Tuesday, 6 September, at the Vientiane summit. United States presidents can only serve a maximum of two terms (four years each).
Duterte favours a “soft landing” for the issue and said Saturday it would be counter-productive for his militarily weak nation, which hosts small units of United States forces, to confront China or undertake actions that could lead to armed conflict.
Mr Obama then cancelled a meeting with Mr Duterte in Laos but the two met informally on Wednesday in a holding room before attending a gala dinner.
“Thank you for the hospitality, Laos, and I am confident that we will grow stronger economically and advance together with other member nations as one integrated community”.
“When I think back to the time I spent here as a boy, I can’t help but be struck by the extraordinary progress that’s been made by the region in the decades since, even if there’s still a lot of work to be done”, Obama said.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday he told President Barack Obama during their encounter in Laos that he never cursed him. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said the president provided an explanation of how human rights records should be assessed in the context of the historical record.
Duterte, who’s already made a name for himself by calling both the pope and the US ambassador to the Philippines “sons of bitches”, offered Obama the same honor this week, ahead of a private meeting he had scheduled with the USA president.
Despite growing condemnation of the comments and what rights groups say are rampant extrajudicial killings, Duterte has vowed to continue.
He previously took issue with the USA ambassador to the Philippines, whom he called a homosexual, which would be considered an insult by much of the population there.
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Obama brushed off angry comments from Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, saying the bombastic leader has mouthed off before.
