Obama to meet Duterte, but spokesperson unsure

PRESIDENT Duterte expects to establish rapport with US President Barack Obama should they get to meet on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Laos starting Sept. 6, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

The meeting between the two leaders was not yet certain, “but if at all, it may be on the sides,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said when asked about the possibility in a press briefing.

The White House said on Monday that Obama was expected to meet with Mr. Duterte on Tuesday, and planned to touch on human rights as well as security concerns.

“We absolutely expect President Obama [to] raise concerns about some of the recent statements from the President of the Philippines,” White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told a media briefing when asked whether inflammatory remarks by Mr. Duterte about women, journalists, the United Nations and others would be a topic of discussion.

Rhodes said there were important security issues to cover as well, particularly tensions over navigation in the South China Sea.

China has been incensed by a ruling against its claims in the area by an international court in an arbitration case initiated by the Philippines .

Abella said there was “probably” a request for the meeting to take place and that if it did, Mr. Duterte hoped to build ties with the US leader.

“Basically, they’ll establish acquaintances first, establish rapport and relationship,” Abella said.

As for the extrajudicial killing of drug suspects that has raised concerns from Washington, the spokesperson said, “We’re not referring to those matters.”

Mr. Duterte had responded to the US statements of concern about human rights in the country by citing the US problem on race relations and the killing of several African-Americans, a matter that the former Davao City mayor said should be looked into as well.

Crackdown

In the two months that Mr. Duterte has taken over the reins of government, some 1,900 people have been killed in the crackdown on the illegal drug trade, raising global concerns of possible human rights violations and denial of due process.

Police have reported killing 756 people they had branded drug suspects, while insisting that they acted only in self-defense.

The President will embark on a three-country swing on his first trip out of the country next week.

On his visit to Brunei, Laos and Indonesia, he will be meeting with local Filipino communities, Abella said.

Since taking office in July, Mr. Duterte has begun making good his election pledge to kill tens of thousands of suspected criminals, prompting criticisms from rights groups who accuse him of inciting vigilante murders and condoning extrajudicial killings that so far have claimed more than 2,000 lives.

Obama was likely to voice disquiet over the bloodshed and the Philippine leader’s abusive remarks, Rhodes said.

“We regularly meet with the leaders of our treaty allies where we have differences, whether it relates to human rights practices or derogatory comments. We take the opportunity of those meetings to raise those issues directly,” he added.

‘Deeply concerned’

The US Department of State last week said it was “deeply concerned” about reports of extrajudicial killings.

The UN special rapporteur on summary executions, Agnes Callamard, also said Duterte’s promise of immunity and bounties to security forces who had killed drug suspects violated international law.

Mr. Duterte responded by threatening to quit the United Nations, saying: “If you are that disrespectful, son of a whore, then I will just leave you.”

He later said his threat to withdraw from the United Nations was a joke, but continued to repeatedly criticize the international body.

And after garnering more bad headlines overseas for calling the US ambassador “gay” and a “son of a whore,” the President refused to apologize.

Loyal US ally

The Philippines, a former US colony, has always been regarded as one of the most loyal US allies in Asia. The two nations are bound by a mutual defense pact.

Aside from threshing out Mr. Duterte’s controversial take on issues of mutual concern between the United States and the Philippines, Obama also faces thorny talks about the fight against the Islamic State group, climate change and human rights when he sets off for an eight-day valedictory tour through Asia.

The trip comes five months from the end of Obama’s term and was meant to highlight his administration’s seven-year effort to expand US influence in Asia, including his push for massive free-trade and a landmark climate agreement with China. With reports from the wires