U.S. President Barack Obama, who is visiting Laos for the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, mentioned Taiwan as an example of a flourishing Asian democracy during an address on the sidelines of the summit Tuesday.
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Philippine Foreign Secretary Pefecto Yasay told The Associated Press that the leaders had met. [Photo by Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP Images] It’s been reported that the Philippines have always had a very positive view of the United States for decades, and that relations between the two countries is not only strong, but also exclusive and special with a majority of the county seeing the USA favorably.
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.
Thursday’s meeting is said to be the eighth meeting between the two leaders in the last two years.
Had the Obama-Duterte meeting been held as scheduled, this would have been taken up, along with President Obama’s efforts to win support for a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement among 12 nations.
While a Philippine spokesman said he was “very happy” it happened, the USA side said they had a “brief discussion” in a pre-meal “hold space” for leaders.
President Obama assured Modi that he would remain “a strong partner of India and help in any way I can”. “Do not just throw questions”, he said, finishing by declaring, “Putang ina, I will swear at you in that forum” – a Tagalog phrase for “son of a b–h”.
In a message aimed at China’s aggressive posturing on the South China Sea, President Obama said: “We believe that bigger nations should not dictate terms to smaller nations, and that all nations should play by the same rules….”
US State department spokesman Mark Toner admitted that the US scrapped the meeting because Duterte’s statements raised questions about the chances of a productive discussion.
“They met at the holding room and they were the last people to leave the holding room”.
China is among the countries taking part in Thursday’s summit, which includes the 10 ASEAN member states and Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Russia and the United States.
The White House has proposed transferring detainees both to other countries and to prisons in the United States.
“We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me”.
Nevertheless, Duterte’s office earlier Wednesday released a statement saying he would sit next to Obama at the gala dinner.
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President Barack Obama is touring a rehabilitation center in Laos that treats survivors of bombs the US dropped on the country during the Vietnam War.
