MANILA, Philippines (Updated 11:41 a.m.) — President Rodrigo Duterte was the lone ASEAN head of state who was absent during a special summit with Australia on Wednesday morning.
Southeast Asian leaders met with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for a breakfast summit, the first event on the second day of the 33rd ASEAN summit in Singapore.
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The president was also not seen at the ASEAN-Korea Summit, which was held after the ASEAN-China Summit with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Duterte, however, attended the special meeting with China.
President Duterte skips ASEAN-AUS Informal Breakfast Summit, the first event for #ASEAN2018 today. Foreign Affairs Sec. Teodoro Locsin Jr represents the President. Trade a Sec. Ramon Lopez was also spotted in the room. pic.twitter.com/NN10WjpSP3
— christina mendez (@xtinamen) November 14, 2018
Where is the President again? He is not at the 20th ASEAN-Korea Summit after attending the ASEAN-CHINA summit. #ASEAN2018 pic.twitter.com/ivSM8xGPHG
— christina mendez (@xtinamen) November 14, 2018
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. represented the president in the official ASEAN summit with Australia and South Korea.
Malacañang has yet to issue a statement on why Duterte did not attend the meeting with Morrison and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
This would be the second time this year that the president would be missing a summit between the ASEAN and Australia.
In March, Duterte opted not to attend the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney due to developments in the Philippines. The president instead attended the commencement exercises of the Philippine Military Academy Alab Tala Class, which coincided with the special summit.
Duterte 'not enthusiastic' on international summits
It should be recalled that former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull described Duterte as "not an enthusiastic attender of international conferences."
Turnbull made this statement upon confirming that the Philippine leader would not be attending the special summit in Sydney last March.
“We would very much welcome his presence but he'd always indicated he was not going to attend,” Turnbull said in March, based on a report by news.com.au.
Duterte's absence in the ASEAN-Australia summit earlier this year was at a time that the international community has been calling for an external probe into his crackdown against illegal drugs.
Australia was among the countries that condemned Duterte's drug war during the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva last year. — Patricia Lourdes Viray