Trump meets Rody: See you in Manila

DA NANG – Manila is on his mind.

United States President Donald Trump made it clear to President Duterte that he is seeing him in Manila today for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia summits. “See you tomorrow,” Trump was quoted yesterday as telling Duterte when they bumped into each other during a break at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Forum here.

Trump said he was looking forward to meeting Duterte in Manila, where the US leader is expected to stay until Wednesday.

A photo posted by presidential special assistant Christopher Bong Go showed Duterte and Trump in a huddle along with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Duterte had a brief chat with Trump during the leaders’ retreat.

“It was brief meeting. It was warm and cordial,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said yesterday in a press briefing.

“It shows that the two leaders were genuinely pleased to have finally met each other,” Roque added.

Duterte and Trump will likely talk about the North Korean threat and the overall security situation in the region, particularly the South China Sea dispute. Human rights is unlikely to be on the agenda.

Roque said Duterte has expressed concerns over the ramifications of an outbreak of hostilities in the Korean Peninsula. “He has warned against what he has described as another nuclear holocaust and he has encouraged all states to communicate with each other,”  Roque said, citing the Chief Executive’s recent visit to Japan.

“So yes, I confirm that the Philippine President has
 attached tremendous importance to what will happen in North Korea and has recognized that any resort to the use of force, particularly nuclear weapons, would result in dire consequences to the entire region,” Roque said, adding, “and will adversely affect the economic development that we are currently achieving in the Philippines.”

With China’s provocative actions in the South China Sea, Roque said the issue is expected to be discussed by the two leaders.

“And although I would suppose it would be safe to assume that the discussion on West Philippine Sea will take place because in the remark of the US President, he also said that the interest of the United States is to maintain freedom of navigation ‘in crucial waterways’,” Roque said.

“I think the President of the Philippines joins the rest of the world in maintaining that there should be freedom of navigation in a very crucial sea passage, sea lane passage,” Roque added.

“The West Philippine Sea, as you know, is one of the busiest sea routes in the world. And it is to the interest of everyone that countries in the region, including the claimants to the disputed islands and waters of the West Philippine Sea, should recognize the principle of freedom of navigation,” Roque added.

Last Friday, Duterte said he expected an “interesting time” with Trump during their meeting in Manila.

In other photos, Duterte was seen shaking hands with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and South Korean president Moon Jae-in.

Earlier, Duterte was with other world leaders in the APEC Economic Leaders Retreat 1 titled “Growth inclusion and sustainable employment in the digital age.”  

It was after this activity that Trump and Duterte met briefly before they went to the APEC Garden at the Intercontinental Da Nang for the APEC “family photo.”

In the photo, Duterte was at the back row, flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

Duterte was able to meet and talk with top world leaders on the sidelines of the APEC summit. He had bilateral meetings with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Duterte was unable to attend the Gala dinner hosted by President Tran Dai Quang last Friday.