Obama, Duterte Meet Despite Philippine Leader’s Crude Outburst

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed regret Tuesday over his “son of a bitch” remark while referring to President Barack Obama, in a rare display of contrition by a politician whose wide arc of profanities has unabashedly targeted world figures including the pope and the United Nations chief.

Prime Minister Modi exchanged views with Obama on the sidelines of the G20 summit+ in China’s Hangzhou on Sunday, with the U.S. president praising the “bold policy” move on GST reform in a “difficult” global economic scenario. This attitude has been reflected on the campaign trail, where Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton also seemed more focused on the insult than on Duterte’s track record and emphasized the positive relationship the United States and the Philippines typically enjoy.

Yasay said: “I am happy”.

Since he took office, more than 1,900 people have died, including at least 700 in police operations.

He has previously called the pope a “son of a whore” and the usa ambassador a “gay son of whore”.

The Philippines voiced regret for Duterte’s comments after Obama canceled a formal bilateral meeting.

However the White House had no immediate comment and the Philippines did not elaborate on what was said. “He’s the most powerful president of any country on the planet”, Duterte said of Obama after arriving in Laos for the ASEAN summit Tuesday, September 6.

The Philippines has been central in this effort due to an worldwide court case it brought and won against Beijing.

“The Philippines is not a vassal state”.

Philippine Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said the “warm handshake and good conversation” between Obama and Duterte was a sign that “all’s well that ends well”, adding, “There was an efforts on both sides to patch things up”.

Duterte has taken a more reconciliatory track to rebuild relations with the Asian economic powerhouse and has said he would not raise the long-simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea in an adversarial manner that might upset the Chinese government. The President later retracted his statement, saying it was just a joke.

“He is maybe feeling his way into the new job”, the official said.

The document said the leaders agreed to use the safety and communication procedures for the safety of all the naval ships and naval aircraft, as set out in CUES, when they encounter each other in the South China Sea.

Though Duterte’s quick retreat after the White House reprimand showed that the U.S. still can call shots in the relationship, it gave Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence an opportunity to attack Obama for squandering USA “credibility” in the world. -Philippine relations blossomed, expressed disappointment over the aborted meeting with the U.S.

“It’s unfortunate, but doesn’t fundamentally derail the relationship”, he said.