Obama arrived in Laos Tuesday morning (September 6), becoming the first sitting USA president to visit landlocked Laos, where the United States waged a “secret war” while fighting in Vietnam, dropping an estimated two million tonnes of bombs on the country.
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President Barack Obama is continuing his historic visit to Laos with a trip to the city of Luang Prabang.
Obama’s first stop Wednesday was Wat Xieng Thong, a 16th century complex of ornate gold buildings known as the “Temple of the Golden City”.
U.S. President Barack Obama looks to audience members seating behind him on stage as he speaks during town hall with Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) at Souphanouvong University in Luang Prabang, Laos, Wednes.
During the Vietnam War, the USA dropped hundreds of millions of tons of explosives, including 80 million bombs that never exploded. He touted his administration’s move to double spending on ordinance cleanup to roughly $90 million over three years. The president said he wants to encourage deeper connections with Asia.
The $90 million is a relatively small sum for the US but a significant investment for a small country in one of the poorer corners of the world. Obama has endorsed Hillary Clinton and has said he plans to campaign full-force for the Democrat ahead of the November election. Obama sought to put a human face on the issue by meeting Wednesday with survivors of bombs that America dropped.
For Obama, the visit serves as a capstone to his yearslong effort to bolster relations with Southeast Asian countries long overlooked by the United States.
President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are holding face-to-face talks on the margins of a regional summit in Laos.
In his speech to the young leaders he said that the U.S.
Thanks to global clean-up efforts, casualties from tennis ball-sized “bombies” that still litter the Laotian countryside have plummeted from hundreds to dozens per year, but aid groups say far more help is needed. Terrorism, natural disasters and military resources are among the topics being discussed. Of all the provinces in landlocked Laos, only one has a comprehensive system to care for bomb survivors. Vowing the USA will do more to help finally remove them, he touted his administration’s move to double spending on ordnance cleanup to roughly $90 million over three years. He said that, as the population continues to decrease, he hopes the American people will ask about the expense of maintaining a facility that he believes isn’t necessary for their safety and security. American warplanes dropped more explosives on this Southeast Asian nation than on Germany and Japan combined in World War II, a stunning statistic that Obama noted during his first day in Vientiane.
He is also due to attend an annual worldwide gathering in the Southeast Asian region.
The awkwardness continued days later when Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called Obama a “son of a bitch” and warned him not to challenge him in their planned meeting in Laos, leading Obama to call it off.
“I don’t take these comments personally, because it seems as if this is a phrase he’s used repeatedly, directed at the pope and others”, Obama said of the slur.
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Obama’s visit to Laos is the first by a sitting US president.
