They cited the mutual commitment of Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping to a global climate change accord, as well as the confirmation following a meeting with South Korea’s president that a USA -supplied missile defense system will be deployed despite Chinese objections.
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“I say “half-measured” in a sense that it has articulated a primary interest in Asia, which I think is correct, but it has not been backed up with a lot of muscle”, said Henry Nau, a professor of global affairs at the George Washington University in Washington.
Veering off his prepared speech, Duterte launched into a tirade about U.S. military killings in the Philippines when it was an American colony from 1898 to 1946, according to three diplomats.
Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in Vientiane, Laos. Then came an unmistakable insult from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who obliged Obama to cancel their bilateral meeting by calling him the Tagalog equivalent of “son of a whore”.
Duterte later walked into the venue of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ summit meetings in Vientiane, about four hours late but just in time to catch the start of the East AsiaSummit, which groups the leaders of the 10-nation ASEAN and eight other heads of state, including President Barack Obama.
“If I would subtitle Duterte’s sentence, it would be “damn it, I’ll curse you in that forum”, Mr Laxamana told the ABC”.
Mr. Duterte, whose debut on the global stage was marred by his expletive-laden remarks against Obama before flying to Laos on Monday, also skipped the Asean leaders’ meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday night.
Duterte, accompanied by some of his cabinet officials, arrived aboard a chartered Philippine Airlines plane at the worldwide airport of his hometown in Davao City from Jakarta, Indonesia where he made a one-day state visit after attending the Asean summit in Vientiane, Laos. You must be respectful.
“I don’t take these comments personally because it seems as if this is a phrase he’s used repeatedly including directed at the pope and others”, adding that such choice words were “a habit, a way of speaking for him”.
“The latest incident raises concern that President Duterte’s unpredictable behavior in politics will be disruptive and could eventually spill into economics and business”, said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist for the Philippines’ largest lender, BDO Unibank. A White House official, requesting anonymity, said: “Obama had a brief discussion with Duterte before the ASEAN Gala Dinner in the leaders’ holding space”. Over 2,000 people have been killed in a crackdown on suspected drug dealers and users since Duterte assumed office in June.
Pollack said Obama’s commitment to the Asia-Pacific region was political, economic and highly personal, and pointed to the ratification of the Paris accord on climate change as the most significant accomplishment. “If you don’t experience it, you don’t know how it’s done, you’ll be grappling”.
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The leader of the devoutly Catholic nation has reportedly called the Pope a “son of a whore” and called the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines a “gay ambassador, the son of a whore”.
