US senator: Trump failed to denounce Duterte's 'murderous' drug war

MANILA, Philippines — A US senator criticized President Donald Trump for hailing the "great relationship" he has with President Rodrigo Duterte instead of bringing up the issue of human rights abuses and the rising deaths from the drug war.

US Sen. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) said that Trump failed to make meaningful progress on critical economic and security issues during his five-country trip to Asia.

"Rather than denouncing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s murderous anti-drug campaign that resulted in the deaths of at least 6,000 people and his government’s gross human rights abuses, President Trump instead hailed the ‘great relationship’ he has with the Philippine president," Markey said in a statement.

READ: White House, Palace issue contrasting accounts of Duterte-Trump talks

Markey, top democrat on the US Senate Foreign Relations East Asia Subcommittee, noted that the US must understand China's strategic intentions in the region as it would affect American leadership in Asia Pacific.

Beijing has been challenging the global order of promoting peace and stability, the American lawmaker said.

"China has not lived up to its international obligations to help denuclearize the Korean Peninsula," Markey said.

Trump, on the other hand, failed to build on the importance of trilateral unity with Japan and South Korea in addressing the North Korean threat.

"President Trump tweeted about how hard he has tried to be North Korea’s friend and called Kim Jong Un 'short and fat,'" the senator said.

Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2017

“It is past time for President Trump to focus on working with our partners to find a meaningful diplomatic solution to the North Korea crisis," Markey said.

Markey also called out China for undermining the sovereignty of its smaller neighbors, referring to its expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea.

Beijing claims about 90 percent of the entire South China Sea, which is also being contested by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The US senator also pointed out that US companies are facing the threat of intellectual property theft.

The "pomp and circumstance" in Beijing appeared to have distracted Trump, preventing him from gaining economic and security concessions from China.

"We must ensure that we protect both U.S. economic and security interests, as well as the broader international system that has helped provide peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and beyond," Markey said.

Meanwhile, Trump said that the US and China have agreed that North Korea's "freeze-for-freeze" agreement is unacceptable.

China, on the other hand, announced that it would be sending Song Tao, the head of China's ruling Communist Party's International Liaison Department, as a special envoy to North Korea amid growing tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.

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