Speaking to members of the Filipino community before his meeting with Mr. Widodo, Mr. Duterte said if Indonesian forces were in hot pursuit of pirates they could enter Philippine waters and “blast them off”.
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While in Laos on his first foreign trip as president, Duterte caused a diplomatic stir over his alleged “personal attack” on US President Barack Obama that led to the cancellation of their one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the Asean summit.
DESPITE the blame the Duterte administration has heaped on media, President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday urged journalists to criticize him if he is doing something wrong in his job because it is their duty to the public.
After Duterte explained himself to the fellow president in Laos, Obama simply told him that his men will talk to Duterte, to which the Philippine President replied, “OK”.
The Obama administration and its successor have to let Duterte know that he risks a scaled-back relationship with the US if he continues to allow extrajudicial killings – an estrangement that surely would hurt the Filipino leader’s popularity at home. Do not just throw away questions and statements.
The whole room was silent and he waited for Mr Obama to respond but he remained quiet, Mr Duterte said.
Mr Paynor said: “He has to experience it, if you don’t experience it, you don’t know how it’s done, you’ll be grappling”.
In the East Asia Summit meeting held in Vientianne, Laos with Obama and the rest of the leaders from Asia, Duterte has prepared a dramatic speech on Human Rights.
Duterte also said that they would work together to tackle the “menace” of illegal drugs, at a time both countries claim to be fighting a war against rising narcotics use. The kerfuffle was particularly troubling because it came as China marshaled ships near a shoal whose defense from Beijing’s incursions has been a focus of recent U.S.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Duterte shook hands and had a brief chat on Wednesday, officials said, easing the standoff. Duterte’s brutal drug war might be popular with Filipinos, but alienating the US likely won’t be.
Duterte doesn’t care what the world thinks of him and he’s happy to let it be known.
Jokowi also expressed his support for the Philippines’ chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), saying that it would determine the organization’s future journey.
Mr. Duterte said he was sorry that piracy in the Sulu Sea was hampering commerce between Indonesia and the Philippines.
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He said he told the leaders, “This is human rights, what do you intend to do?” and “Human rights violations whether committed by Moses or Abraham, is still violation of human rights”. “But I also look forward to discussing how we can constructively move forward together to lower tensions and promote diplomacy and regional stability”.
