Duterte won’t meet with UN in Laos
President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with nine heads of government, including US President Barack Obama and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe but not with the United Nations at the sidelines of the Association of South East Asian Nations summit in Laos next week, the foreign affairs department said Friday.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon “is not part of Duterte’s bilaterals.”
Two UN human rights experts had criticized Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs where over 2,000 drug suspects have been killed since July1. But the national police said a big part of this were done by vigilantes.
Duterte had threatened to leave the United Nations over what he described as interference but Jose said this is not the reason for Duterte’s inability to meet the UN.
“Please understand that he cannot accept them all and no one should impute any negatives on those he could not accommodate,” said Jose.
Duterte will hold meet leaders of Australia, India, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam at the Sept. 6 to 8 summit, where regional concerns will likely be raised.
In his talks with these leaders and during the summit - his first since becoming president in June 30 - Jose said Duterte will promote Philippines’ key priorities, such as a drug-free ASEAN.
Contrary to the policy of the previous government under then President Benigno Aquino III, Jose said Duterte will not be raising the South China Sea issue at the summit. However, he said the President is open to discussing it if raised in the meetings.
Jose said Duterte will formally accept the Philippine chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2017 from Laos. DMS
