Trump invitation to Duterte, 2 others ‘all about North Korea’

WHITE HOUSE INVITES US President Donald Trump has invited President Duterte, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha (left) and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (right) to Washington to discuss the crisis brought about by North Korea’smissile tests. —JOAN BONDOC

WASHINGTON—The White House on Sunday defended President Donald Trump’s decision to invite the Philippines’ President Duterte to Washington, saying the need to rally Asian allies over North Korea overshadowed concerns about Mr. Duterte’s brutal war on drugs.

On Saturday, the White House said Trump, during their “very friendly conversation,” invited Mr. Duterte, an authoritarian leader accused of ordering extrajudicial killings of drug suspects in the Philippines, to visit him at the White House.

Now, the administration is bracing for an avalanche of criticism from human rights groups.

The White House disclosed the news on a day when Trump fired up his supporters at a campaign-style rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The timing of the announcement—after a speech that was a grievance-filled jeremiad—encapsulated this president after 100 days in office: still ready to say and do things that leave people, even on his staff, slack-jawed.

The presidential palace in Manila said on Monday that Mr. Duterte had yet to issue a statement on the White House invitation.

“Let us just say he was wont to appreciate the gesture. His response remains to be seen,” said presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella.

Terrifying message

“Celebrating a man who boasts of killing his own citizens and inviting him to the White House, while remaining silent on his disgusting human rights record, sends a terrifying message,” said John Sifton, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch.

“By essentially endorsing Mr. Duterte’s murderous war on drugs, Trump is now morally complicit in future killings,” Sifton said. “Although the traits of his personality likely make it impossible, Trump should be ashamed of himself.”

Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Senate foreign relations committee, said on Twitter, “We are watching in real time as the American human rights bully pulpit disintegrates into ash.”

Thousands of Filipinos have been killed since Mr. Duterte unleashed his fierce war on drugs nearly 10 months ago.

Police have said they killed only in self-defense, and the deaths of other dealers and users was down to vigilantes or narcotics gangs silencing potential witnesses.

But human rights groups said official accounts were implausible and accused Mr. Duterte of backing a campaign of systematic extrajudicial killings by police. The government has denied that.

Last week, a Filipino lawyer filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court accusing Mr. Duterte of mass murder, alleging his war on drugs had led to about 8,000 deaths.

Administration officials said the call to Mr. Duterte was one of several to Southeast Asian leaders that the White House arranged after picking up signs that the leaders felt neglected because of Trump’s intense focus on China, Japan and tensions over North Korea.

On Sunday, Trump spoke to the prime ministers of Singapore and Thailand; both got White House invitations.

It’s all about North Korea

When White House chief of staff Reince Priebus was asked Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” why Trump was “honoring” Mr. Duterte with an invitation, he said, “I’m not sure it’s a matter of honoring this president.”

Priebus said he had not personally sat in on the entire phone call.

But the purpose of the call, he added, was “all about North Korea.”

“There is nothing facing the country and the region more important than what’s going on in North Korea,” he said.

Priebus insisted the outreach to Mr. Duterte “doesn’t mean human rights don’t matter, but what it does mean is that the issues facing us, developing out of North Korea, are so serious that we need cooperation at some level with as many partners in the area as we can get to make sure we have our ducks in a row.”

Building solidarity throughout Asia, he said, is needed to pressure North Korea on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Experts said that argument was tenuous, however, noting that it was more important to corral a country like Malaysia, where North Koreans hold meetings to buy or sell weapons-related technology.

Engagement with PH

An administration official said the invitation to Mr. Duterte was not a reward or an endorsement of his policies but a decision that engagement with the Philippines, an important longtime US ally, was better than withdrawal, which could “intensify bad behavior” by Mr. Duterte.

“It’s not a ‘thank you,’ the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It’s a meeting.”

Mr. Duterte’s toxic reputation had already given pause to some in the White House.

The Philippines is set to host a summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in November and officials said there had been a brief debate about whether Trump should attend.

It is not even clear, given the accusations of human rights abuses against him, that Mr. Duterte would be granted a visa to the United States were he not a head of state, according to human rights advocates.

Still, Trump’s affinity for Mr. Duterte, and other strongmen as well, is firmly established.

Both presidents are populist insurgent leaders with a penchant for making inflammatory statements.

Both ran for office calling for a wholesale crackdown on Islamist militancy and the drug trade.

And both display impatience with the courts.

After Trump was elected, Mr. Duterte called to congratulate him.

Later, the Philippine leader issued a statement saying that the president-elect had wished him well in his antidrug campaign, which has resulted in the deaths of several thousand people suspected of using or selling narcotics, as well as others who may have had no involvement with drugs.

Strategic rationale

Trump’s cultivation of Mr. Duterte has a strategic rationale, administration officials said.

Mr. Duterte has pivoted away from the United States, a longtime treaty ally, and toward China.

The alienation deepened after he referred to US President Barack Obama last year as a “son of a bitch” when he was asked how he would react if Obama raised human rights concerns with him.

In October, Mr. Duterte called for a “separation” between the Philippines and the United States.

“America has lost now,” he told an audience of business executives in Beijing. “I’ve realigned myself in your ideological flow.”

He later threatened to rip up an agreement that allows American troops to visit the Philippines.

Administration officials said Trump wanted to mend the alliance with the Philippines as a bulwark against China’s expansionism in the South China Sea. —REPORTS FROM NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE, THE WIRES AND NIKKO DIZON IN MANILA