Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed regret yesterday that a tirade against Mr Barack Obama, in which he called the U.S. leader a “son of a whore”, came across as a personal attack.
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U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the Lao National Cultural Hall in Vientiane, Laos, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016.
“Words matter”, said State Department representative Mark Toner, according to Reuters.
Philippines 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.
Some media reports indicate that Beijing might be committed to restoring ties with Manila despite their unresolved territorial conflict.
Duterte regretted insulting Obama on Tuesday in a statement, and expressed his deep regard for the US President.
Declaring a “moral obligation” to heal the wounds of a secret war, President Barack Obama on Tuesday pledged help to clear away the 80 million unexploded bombs the USA dropped on Laos a generation ago – more than 10 for every one of the country’s 7 million people.
“The US and China are engaged across more areas than ever before – from preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, to our shared commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, to our historic leadership together on climate change”, he said.
“And across the region, including in the East and South China Seas, the United States will continue to fly and sail and operate wherever global law allows, and support the right of all countries to do the same”, he said, referring to the territorial disputes many ASEAN countries have with China over the waters.
His comments came as he is preparing to face two critics of his policy: President Barack Obama and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The deal grants Washington increased military presence in its former colony through rotation of ships and planes for humanitarian and maritime security operations.
“China has confidence that it can work with the Philippines to progressively improve our relationship”, he said, adding that relations with the new Duterte government appear to be very promising.
Speaking to reporters, Carter also described the Philippines’ new defense minister, Delfin Lorenzana, as someone who was “very knowledgeable about all the things that we do together”. Do not throw away questions and statements. “This shows that the relationship between the two allies is strong”.
On Monday, Duterte lashed out at the United States for raising questions about a “drug war” that has killed 2,400 Filipinos.
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The Philippines and USA have agreed to reset their bilateral talks to a later date.
