Obama first sitting US President to visit Laos

Greeted by a military band, traditional dancers and a warm, tropical rain, Obama told Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit he hoped to forge a partnership that would “make our two countries whole again” and promised a new era would “mean greater progress and opportunity for the people of Laos”.

Obama arrived in Vientiane just before midnight on Monday, for the first visit by a sitting USA president to Laos, where he wants to begin to address the legacy of us bombing during the Vietnam War.

That made Laos, per capita, the most heavily bombed country in human history.

White House officials previously said Obama would confront Duterte about his country’s handling of drug dealers, including extrajudicial killings, which are government executions without the benefit of judicial proceedings. “Countless civilians were killed”. “T$3 hat conflict was another reminder that, whatever the cause, whatever our intentions, war inflicts a awful toll, especially on innocent men, women and children”.

The punishing air campaign on Laos was an effort to cut off communist forces in neighboring Vietnam.

In the same bilateral meeting, the Vietnamese Prime Minister assured the President of his country’s commitment to continuously supply the Philippines with rice.

But Mr. Obama’s biggest hurdles to completing the 12-nation deal are back home in the USA, where the agreement suffered another setback when Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America urged the House and Senate to defeat the pact. Those gathered listened politely and applauded occasionally.

The president did not come to apologize.

“Over the years thousands of Laotians have been killed or injured”.

A pittance in U.S. aid-just $118 million-has been provided to deal with unexploded bombs.

The White House said the remains of 273 personnel have been located and identified from the Laos war years, but 301 Americans are still listed as missing.

Obama’s visit is laden with historic symbolism given the two countries’ bellicose pasts.

“The bottom line is this”, Obama said.

“As a matter of fact, we inherited this problem from the United States”, he said.

“Our position is stronger”.

The president has also engaged in a war of words with the United Nations, threatening to withdraw from the global agency, calling it “useless” and accusing it of failing to end war, hunger and terrorism. He later said he was just joking. “It would call into question America’s leadership in this vital region”.

Start with the minor snafu that greeted the arrival of Mr. Obama’s plane at the airport in Hangzhou, China, for a Group of 20 summit meeting.

Obama also called the Philippines a close “friend and ally” of the U.S.

“Every nation matters”, he said. Mr Duterte said, adding that the Philippines had not received an apology from the United States for misdeeds committed during its colonisation of the country. Obama vowed to work with the United Nations to tighten sanctions against Pyongyang but said the door wasn’t closed to a more functional relationship.

Duterte had made the intemperate remarks Monday before flying to Laos, where he is attending a regional summit.

The gathering will see the 10 Asean members meet by themselves, then with leaders from the US, China Japan, South Korea and China. Philippine-China ties were strained under Duterte’s predecessors due to territorial conflicts in the South China Sea.

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.

An worldwide tribunal ruled in July that China’s claims to the waters – through which $5 trillion in global shipping trade passes – had no legal basis.

Beijing has rejected the ruling.