“We shall not be cowed”.
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As president, Duterte brings a long-blemished rights record into the 10-nation ASEAN bloc, which has struggled with internal strife due to its unwieldy collective of dictatorships, authoritarian states, a monarchy and fledgling democracies since its founding almost half a century ago as an Asian bulwark against communism. He called for increased use of intelligence gathering and more arrests.
Aside from his deadly record, Duterte’s disdain for statecraft, irreverence and bluntly frank and profane language would likely weigh on ASEAN, a conservative group steeped in tradition, protocol and nuanced rhetoric. Since he took office as president on June 30, his crackdown on suspected drug dealers and users has left more than 2,000 people dead.
Jokowi said the regional architecture should help Asean reach the goals of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and East Asia Summit Bali Principles 2011 – peace, friendly relationship and co-operation among the people of Southeast Asia. He previously upset the United States by referring to the country’s ambassador as a “gay son of a whore”.
At a Q-and-A session with Southeast Asian youth leaders, Obama says he thinks Washington will refocus after the election on why the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement is so important. Mr Obama sought to put a human face on the issue by meeting survivors of bombs America dropped.
President Duterte explained that the press reports that President Obama would “lecture” him on extrajudicial killings led to his strong comments, which in turn elicited concern.
Instead, he’ll will meet with South Korean President Park Geun Hye, Price said in a statement.
However, the news wire added, the U.S. State Department played down the impact of Duterte’s remark, saying it did not cause serious damage to bilateral relations amid growing tensions over the territorial dispute the Philippines has with China.
Obama cancelled Tuesday’s meeting after Duterte called him a “son of a whore” (in Tagalog) on Monday, shortly before leaving for Laos, Efe news reported. Speaking to reporters, he said, “I do not want to quarrel with the most powerful country on the planet”. “Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum”, Duterte told reporters when asked about his message for Obama.
Obama is telling young people at an event in Luang Prabang that he lived in Indonesia as a boy and his sister is half Indonesian.
Rodrigo Duterte would fit right in, critics say, and even steal the show.
“The more optimistic read would be, it’s still early days, this is a president who is just over two months into his presidency”, said Parameswaran.
But by Tuesday, he had done a U-turn in the tone of his statement. “We look forward to ironing out differences arising out of national priorities and perceptions, and working in mutually responsible ways for both countries”.
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“Who is he [Obama] to confront me?” The first United States president to set foot in Laos while in office, Mr Obama lamented that many Americans remain unaware of the “painful legacy”.
