Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday expressed regret for referring to President Obama as a “son of a bitch” and said his nation seeks closer ties with the United States.
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The pamphlet was distributed at a Southeast Asian and East Asian summit in Laos that was overshadowed on Tuesday by the cancellation of a meeting between Duterte and Barack Obama after he referred to the United States president as a “son of a b****”. More than 2,000 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30.
Obama became the first US president to visit Laos when he arrived in the once-isolated country on Monday to attend two regional summits, half a century after America’s “secret war” left Laos with the unfortunate distinction of being the most heavily bombed country, per capita, in history. “Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum”, said Duterte on camera, prompting Obama to ask his aides whether a “constructive, productive conversation” was still possible.
From 1964 to 1973, US warplanes dropped more than 270 million cluster munitions on the communist country, one-third of which did not explode, the Lao National Regulatory Authority for UXO says.
Duterte said he would demand that Obama allow him to first explain the context of his crackdown before engaging the USA president in a discussion about the deaths. “Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed we will continue”, he said.
THE United States Government has pledged an additional US$90 million over the next three years to clear the tens of millions of unexploded bombs the USA dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War. His government said in a separate statement the fight against illegal drugs must be won.
“While the immediate cause was my strong comments to certain press questions that elicited concern and distress we also regret it came across as a personal attack on the United States president”, a statement released by Duterte said.
The announcement came Tuesday during President Barack Obama’s visit to Laos.
This is not the first time the Philippine president has branded a U.S. official the “son of a whore”.
The gathering will see the 10 ASEAN members meet by themselves, then with leaders from the US, China Japan, South Korea and China.
“Police have killed 1,033 people in anti-drug operations since Duterte was sworn into office just over two months ago, according to the national police update on Tuesday”. He also sought to reassure the region that the US wouldn’t ease up on its engagement in Asia under his successor.
Obama isn’t the only leader that is the recipient of Duterte’s verbal wrath.
China rejects those accusations, and in turn blames the United States for ratcheting up tensions unnecessarily. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims. Many unemployed women took it up for a living.
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Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte leaves the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane.
