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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“President Duterte is a rock star not only in our country but also in other countries like Laos, Japan, and now the other foreign ministers and delegates have scrambled to get a selfie with our president”, Mr. Andanar said.
In a terse statement, the White House said only that “Obama had a brief discussion with President Duterte before the ASEAN Gala Dinner in the leaders’ hold space”.
Two Philippine Cabinet officials said Duterte did not criticize any country or leader by name in his speech. It all springs from the fact the relationship between the Philippines and the United States is firm, very strong.
“Son of a bitch, I will swear at you at that forum”, he said on Monday, when asked how he would respond to questions about the spate of killings amid his government’s anti-drug campaign.
Mr Duterte won the presidency with his hard-line policy to eradicate drugs and some 2,400 people have died in anti-drug operations since he took office in June.
During a speech earlier, Obama said the US focuses on improving human rights in other nations when he travels overseas because it has learned that if you don’t respect all people or religions, then it results in conflict.
“Let me tell you about human rights”, the diplomat quoted Duterte as saying while displaying a picture of Filipinos killed by American soldiers about a century ago.
“I don’t think the guy is qualified to be president of the United States, and every time he speaks, that opinion is confirmed”, Obama said at a press conference in Laos, closing out his final Presidential trip to Asia. Earlier this week Duterte’s lewd jab at Obama – calling him a “son of a whore” – prompted the White House to cancel planned bilateral talks.
The American President further said, “And it certainly has no impact in terms of power”.
A formal meeting between the leaders was cancelled after the spat, though Mr Duterte later expressed regret for his comments.
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“There is no doubt that because of the politics in Congress right now, it is a tough road to hoe”, Obama conceded Thursday.
