The Philippine bilateral talks with the United States scheduled on the margins of the 28th and 29th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summits and Related Summits being held here has been moved to a later date. The group’s spokesman, Abu Rami, told local news agency ABS-CBN that the explosion was a “call for unity to all mujahideen in the country”, using an Arabic term for fighters carrying out the Muslim holy war.
Advertisement
5, “plenty will be killed” before the end of his campaign against illegal drugs that has led to the death of about 2,400 people since he became president two months ago. Duterte later expressed regret over the comments.
As a result, he said, having a US president visit Laos would have been “unimaginable”, but he noted his courage to address the historical conflict. Duterte is set to meet President Obama at a regional summit in Laos on September 6, and lashed out at the American president ahead of their meeting.
Obama cancelled Tuesday what could have been his first meeting with Duterte.
The recently elected President of the #Philippines, #Rodrigo Duterte, has a habit of insulting public figures. Duterte’s frustration is shared by many Filipinos, who can not understand why the foreign media will not look beyond the sensational stories and ask if what’s happening-meaning, the inroads being made against the illegal drug trade-is not really a good thing.
While tensions are likely to dissipate, this spat has brought a number of changes in the U.S. -Philippines relationship into the spotlight.
The president arrived yesterday to attend a regional summit.
“I don’t care about him”, Mr. Duterte also said. Duterte asked. “I am no American puppet. So. people who live in glass houses should not” throw stones at others. And it’s something that only someone like Duterte can say.
But according to a draft of the final statement ASEAN is scheduled to release on Thursday, the region’s leaders will express strong concern about Beijing’s construction of man-made islands in the South China Sea, which Southeast Asian countries fear could destabilize the region.
“We look forward to ironing out differences arising out of national priorities and perceptions and working in mutually responsible ways for both countries”, said the statement. I do not respond to anybody but to the people of the Republic of the Philippines.
“You must be respectful”, the President was quoted as saying in a media briefing before his departure for Laos Monday.
Advertisement
A statement from Duterte’s office Tuesday claimed the “son of the bitch” insult was aimed at the journalist whose question prompted the fiery response, and not at Obama. “Putang ina, I will swear at you in that forum”. During a coffee break, though, very late in the evening, a foreign affairs official who represented then secretary Blas Ople in the meeting, pulled me aside and told me: “The decision has already been made, let’s not waste our time”. Duterte said, adding that the Philippines had not received an apology from the United States for misdeeds committed during its colonization of the country.
