President Barack Obama cancelled what could have been his first meeting with Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte after the latter slandered abused Obama, a White House spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Duterte expresses regret that his “son of a bitch” remark came across as a personal attack on Obama.
Duterte, a plain-spoken populist known for his colourful remarks and his campaign against illegal drugs in which thousands of people have died, described Obama as a “son of a bitch” to reporters on Monday, a day ahead of the planned meeting in Laos, where South Asian leaders are meeting for annual summits.
Obama learned about the insult as he emerged from the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China. At a news conference, he said he had told his aides to speak with the Philippine officials to find out whether this was “a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations,” leaving little doubt that the meeting would not proceed as planned.
I always want to make sure that if I’m having a meeting, it should be actually productive and we’re getting something done.Obama
Instead, Obama now plans to meet South Korean President Park Geun-hye later on Tuesday, said Ned Price, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council – a meeting where the response to North Korea’s latest missile tests is expected to be on the agenda.
The White House had said Obama did not plan to pull any punches on his concerns about human rights abuse in the Philippines, its treaty ally, while meeting Duterte.
Duterte won the presidency in May as he promised to suppress crime and wipe out drugs and drug dealers, and a wave of extrajudicial killings had followed. Duterte said it would be “rude” for Obama to raise the human rights issue, and told reporters such a conversation would prompt him to curse Obama, using a Filipino phrase for “son of a bitch.”
Plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed, we will continue.Rodrigo Duterte, Philippines President
It’s not the first time Duterte has cursed a world leader. He called Pope Francis a “son of a whore” in May, and had called US Ambassador Philip Goldberg a “gay son of a whore.”
On Monday, Obama said he recognised the importance of fighting the drug trade, but insisted it must be done under the rule of law.
Tensions May Affect ASEAN Summit
The unusually-open tensions threaten to overshadow the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the East Asia Summits in Laos from Tuesday to Thursday.
The Philippines has been a key US ally in its dispute with China over the South China Sea, in which Washington blames Beijing for militarising a vital global trade route and jeopardising freedom of movement at sea and in the air.
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