VIENTIANE-President Rodrigo Duterte met with United States President Barack Obama late Wednesday and the two have supposedly “ironed out their differences”, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced here late Wednesday night. The presidents of the two longtime allies were due to hold talks for the first time on Tuesday but the White House scrapped the meeting after the volatile Duterte insulted Obama.
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Yasay said the two leaders met in a holding room just before a gala dinner at the summit.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called U.S. -Philippines relations “strong” and “longstanding” - comments that skirted around Duterte’s human rights abuses.
The encounter took place just before a dinner during a summit of regional leaders in Laos, officials indicated.
Increasing Chinese movements in the South China Sea have created tension in the region, and while the White House has claimed impartiality over the issue it also stands to gain little from a rising China. “And I’m very happy that it happened”.
Philippine ambassador to Laos Marciano Paynor said the tiff with Obama was part of a learning curve for Duterte, who needed a chance to make the transition from being a city mayor to a head of state.
“In the afternoon, the President will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India”, the White House said. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the crackdown since he took office on June 30. “I am the president of a sovereign country and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people”, he proclaimed before traveling to Laos for the summit.
On Tuesday, Duterte expressed regret over the remarks, but the damage was done.
“You must be respectful”, Duterte said, after a reporter asked him how he might respond to criticism from Obama about his approach to combating crime. But Obama canceled it after Duterte called Obama a “son of a bitch” andthreatened to swear at him if he brought up concerns about extrajudicial killings of drug dealers and users in the Philippines. Do not throw away questions and statements.
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Obama and Duterte entered the dinner venue separately, and were seated far apart and did not interact with each other during the dinner that lasted an hour and 20 minutes.
