Duterte on Monday vowed that he would curse at Obama should the American leader question his handling of the Philippines’s war on drugs, which has drawn global concern with thousands reported dead.
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The statement comes a day after U.S.President Barack Obama made a decision to cancel a meeting with the controversial leader, who characteristically lashed out in response to Obama’s relatively mild criticism of Duterte’s war on drugs, which is responsible for what some have claimed is over 2,000 extra-judicial killings since Duterte was sworn-in as president at the end of June.
Meanwhile, officials from both countries said there would be no formal meeting rescheduled in Laos, but that a short conversation between the two presidents was possible.
Obama indicated Monday he was wary of meeting with Duterte, suggesting the bombast could prevent making substantial progress between the two nations.
“All it takes is heat, shock and friction for something to be volatile and go boom”, says Emma Atkinson, who works on U.S. State Department programs and funding to clear unexploded bombs in Laos.
During the Vietnam War, the US and other foreign countries interfered in a civil war in Laos. How about you? I have so many questions also about human rights to ask you. The White House said in a statement United States programs in Laos had helped slash UXO casualties from 300 to less than 50 a year and the additional funding would be for a “comprehensive UXO survey of Laos and for continued clearing operations”. “Unfriendly rhetoric and undiplomatic statements will not bring us anywhere”, Drilon said. Even now, the president said, many Americans were unaware of their country’s deadly legacy here. But by Tuesday, he had done a complete U-turn in the tone of his statement.
The Philippines voiced regret for Duterte’s comments after Obama cancelled a formal bilateral meeting.
Human Rights Watch has called for the International Narcotics Control Board and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to condemn the “alarming surge in killings of suspected drug users or dealers” in the country.
“You must be respectful”, Duterte said of Obama.
“The areas that we believe we have robust, strong cooperation with them, we are not going to just simply throw that aside”. “Putang ina, I will swear at you in that forum”, he said, using the Tagalog phrase for “son of a bitch”.
In the statement, Duterte stressed the war on drugs and criminality should be won to ensure the people’s rights and liberties are protected and preserved.
The comment that caused Mr Obama to postpone the meeting was certainly confrontational, although some of his supporters argue that the style was simply Mr Duterte’s robust manner of speech.
The United States and others have raised concerns over the extrajudicial killings taking place in the Philippines since Duterte took office.
He pointed to the killing of Muslim Moros more than a century ago during a USA pacification campaign in the southern Philippines, blaming the wounds of the past as “the reason why (the south) continues to boil” with separatist insurgencies.
Indian Ambassador to ASEAN Suresh Kumar Reddy told media that the ASEAN summit is expected to set the agenda for further strengthening the ties which will help India to achieve its objectives for Socio-Economic Growth.
U.S. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said Obama’s journey helps honor the Lao and Hmong veterans who supported the United States during the war. He sought to address worries that United States’ new focus on Asia will leave smaller nations as pawns in a chess match between the US and China.
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Obama ticked off the elements of the pivot – the deployment of a rotational force of Marines to Australia, a missile-defense system to protect South Korea from the North’s missiles, and a greater American voice in regional issues, like the disputes between China and its neighbors over disputed reefs and shoals in the East China Sea and South China Sea.
