The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Duterte says he may be too busy for White House visit
Philippines leader says he’ll also travel to Russia, Israel.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines said on Monday that he might not accept President Donald Trump’s invitation to visit the White House, because he was “tied up” with a busy schedule.
“I cannot make any definite promise,” Duterte said, adding, “I’m supposed to go to Russia. I’m also supposed to go to Israel.”
Trump’s invitation Saturday to Duterte, an authoritarian leader who has been accused of ordering extrajudicial killings of drug suspects, drew criticism from human rights advocates, who said such a visit would amount to a White House endorsement of Duterte’s policies.
Thousands of people have been gunned down in the Philippines since Duterte took office in June, promising a crackdown on narcotics. White House officials said Trump had called Duterte in an effort to mend their countries’ recently strained relationship, as a bulwark against China’s expansionism in the South China Sea. Reince Priebus, White House chief of staff, said Trump also wanted to build a united front in Asia in opposition to North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear and missile technology. Duterte said his conversation with Trump had been amicable, and that he had urged the U.S. leader to tread carefully with North Korea. “Our greatest chance there of getting some dialogue with America and North Korea would be through the intercession of China,” he said.
The Philippines and China have long-standing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, but Duterte has moved toward Beijing and away from Washington since taking office. He spoke to reporters Monday after touring Chinese warships in port in Davao City, his hometown, and said that the Philippines and China might hold joint naval exercises. Josh Kurlantzick, a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, said he expected Duterte would still come to the United States, but may not want to seem too eager to do so.
“Even though he welcomes a better relationship with this U.S. president, he wants to be cautious that he does not appear to be embracing the U.S. too much, given that he has devoted a fair amount of diplomatic resources to courting China,” Kurlantzick said. Trump continued his efforts at Southeast Asian diplomacy Sunday when he called Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore and Gen. Prayuth Chanocha, prime minister of Thailand, and invited them to the White House. Human rights advocates have criticized Prayuth, who seized power in a 2014 coup, for the crackdown on civil liberties by his military government. Duterte suggested Monday that his differences with the United States had had much to do with Obama. He added: “Things have changed. There’s a new leadership.”