Obama scraps meet with Rody
VIENTIANE – An expletive-laced tirade by President Duterte apparently proved too much for US President Barack Obama, who scrapped a bilateral meeting with the “colorful” Philippine leader that would have taken place here yesterday on the sidelines of the
It was a spectacular fallout between the US and the Philippines, longtime allies that have seen relations plunge under a barrage of insults from Duterte since he came to office on June 30.
“Clearly, he’s a colorful guy” with “colorful statements,” Obama said, reacting to Duterte’s latest diatribe, during a news conference Monday night after the Group of 20 summit in China. Hours later, US officials announced that the meeting, which highly placed sources said Manila had requested, had been scrapped.
It is rare for the US president to cancel bilateral meetings. One such case was when Obama scrapped a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in August 2013. This was after Moscow granted temporary asylum to National Security Agency whistle-blower Edward Snowden when China let him leave Hong Kong instead of extraditing him to the US as requested by Washington.
In Hangzhou after the G- 20 meeting, Obama told a press conference that he had asked his staffers to speak with their Philippine counterparts and to assess whether meeting with Duterte would be productive.
Duterte made a “rookie” mistake by announcing beforehand that if Obama lectured him on the issue of drug- related extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, the situation could turn ugly, said former State Department spokesman PJ Crowley.
By telegraphing his intention in a vulgar language, Duterte ensured Obama would cancel a meeting with him in Laos, Crowley said in an interview with BBC World
News America on Monday. Obama flew to Laos on Monday for the ASEAN summit after attending the G20 meeting in Hangzhou. Duterte’s war on crime has claimed more than 2,400 lives in just over two months.
“You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum,” Duterte told reporters when asked about his message for Obama.
Duterte, who has quickly earned a global reputation for his acid tongue, then used typically colorful language to describe their planned meeting if rights issues came up.
“We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me,” he said. Duterte had previously also branded US Ambassador Philip Goldberg as a “gay” whom he disliked. The statement also included “son of a whore.” Duterte had earlier sought to taint the reputation of Pope Francis’ mother similar fashion.
US officials said instead of meeting with Duterte, Obama would meet with South Korean President Park Geun- hye.
Before the cancellation of the meeting was announced, Obama said “the Filipino people are some of our closest friends and allies and the Philippines is a treaty ally of ours. But I always want to make sure that if I’m having a meeting that it’s actually productive and we’re getting something done.”
Since taking office in June, Duterte has sanctioned the killing of drug dealers to wipe out the drug menace in the Philippines and more than 2,400 people, most of them suspected drug dealers, have been reported killed.
He has also previously cursed or insulted UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon and senior UN officials.
Duterte was elected to office in a landslide this year in after pledging to kill 100,000 people in an unprecedented war on crime.
When faced with criticisms over an apparent spate of extrajudicial killings in his crime war by the UN, he responded with what has become familiar abuse.
“Maybe we’ll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations. If you are that disrespectful, son of a whore, then I will just leave you,” he said last month.
Crucial time
The setback in US- Philippine relations comes at a crucial time in the region, with China seeking to cement control over the contested South China Sea.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims to the strategically vital waters, but have watched China expand its presence by building artificial islands in key locations.
An international tribunal ruled in July that China’s claims to the waters – through which $ 5 trillion in global shipping trade passes – had no legal basis.
The verdict was widely seen as a sweeping victory for the Philippines, which filed the suit under the previous administration of president Benigno Aquino III. But China has vowed to ignore the ruling.
And Duterte has sought to heal relations with China rather than inflame them by pressing the tribunal’s ruling.
Under Aquino, the Philippines had forged closer military ties with the US to deal with the China threat. But Duterte has cast doubt on that strategy.
Obama’s aides had previously said he wanted to discuss the South China Sea issue with Duterte in Laos.
Nevertheless, the South China Sea issue is expected to once again be discussed at the three days of meetings hosted by ASEAN, which will be attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
The gathering will see the 10 ASEAN members meet by themselves, then with leaders from the US, Japan, South Korea and China.
Other leaders to come for an East Asia summit on Thursday include those from Australia, India and New Zealand.
Laos is the final Asian visit of Obama’s eight- year presidency, during which he has sought to refocus American military, political and economic resources on the region.
It is also the first visit by a sitting US president to Laos, which the US secretly carpet bombed for nearly a decade in the Vietnam War, killing tens of thousands of people.
Obama is expected to announce today greater help in clearing the bombs.