Duterte to swap notes on drug war with Trump

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Fighting drugs and terror is seen to highlight President Duterte’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in November in Manila during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders Summit and Related Meetings.

Speaking here with reporters Sunday night before departing for Tokyo for a three-day working visit, Duterte said Trump’s strong position against drugs is something he shares with the US president and that the issue would likely top their agenda – aside from terrorism – in their expected bilateral meet.

He also promised to deal with Trump in the “most righteous way” during the ASEAN meetings on Nov. 12-13.

“The fight against drugs, and all of these, I said, expect to be dealing with him around these topics,” Duterte added.

Aside from drugs, Duterte said he might also discuss the issue of terrorism with the US leader.

Trump earlier declared a national emergency over opioid addiction in the US, particularly fentanyl abuse, saying the issue has become a “national shame.”

Reacting to Trump’s move, Duterte said he had recognized the problem early on as he again taunted former US president Barack Obama for his critical stand on Duterte’s vicious war on drugs.

“I would deal with President Trump in the most righteous way, welcome him as an important leader, as a matter of fact, the important leader on this side of the planet,” the President said. “And, I would have to also listen to him what he has to say.”

But before the Manila summit, Duterte and Trump are also expected to meet in Da Nang, Vietnam on Nov. 8-10 at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Trump will travel to Asia on Nov. 3-14 amid rising tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

He will be in Manila on the last leg of his trip, which includes visits to Japan, South Korea, China and Vietnam, to attend the ASEAN leaders’ summit and related meetings.

Trump will meet with Duterte but will skip the larger meeting in Manila with heads of states and governments from China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Duterte said he was glad Trump had also acknowledged the seriousness of the drug problem. “For example, like declaring a national emergency regarding the drug issue. But these are on the level of a societal problem. It’s not a problem of law and order. There are no warlords there,” the President further said.

But Duterte explained the drug problem in the US is not the same as that of the Philippines.

“Maybe, illegal ha – illegal handguns, very few, far and in between, not the kind of the drug problem that we have here. That including mayors and barangay captains are affected heavily,” Duterte added.

The Philippine leader is known for his often profanity-laden tirades against the US, chiding Washington for treating the Philippines “like a dog,” despite the two nations’ longstanding relationship.

The Philippines’ leader announced his “separation” from the US during a visit to Beijing a year ago, declaring he had realigned with China as the two agreed to resolve their South China Sea dispute through talks.

Duterte was infuriated by expressions of concern by members of former president Obama’s administration about extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

But Trump, in a phone call to Duterte in May, praised the Philippine leader for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem” despite human rights groups’ condemnation of Duterte’s drug crackdown, in which thousands of people have been killed.

Human rights, rule of law and due process are among “important developments” the two leaders would likely discuss during their bilateral talks, US Ambassador Sung Kim told foreign correspondents last week.

Duterte is accused by international human rights groups of supporting a campaign of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects in the Philippines, which his government denies.

He defended his 16-month-old campaign last week, telling Southeast Asian lawyers at a gathering in Manila that he had been “demonized” and again denied allegations of state-sponsored killings of drug dealers and users.

Duterte, speaking in Davao City on Sunday night, said the situation in the Korean Peninsula would be the main agenda item in his talks with Trump.

“We are worried. If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong,” he said. “A nuclear war is totally unacceptable to everybody.”

Duterte said it would be good if the United States, Japan and South Korea would sit down and talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and “tell him that nobody’s threatening him, that there would be no war and that if you can just tone down or stand down, stop the threats, and that would be the same for America.”

Duterte previously described Kim as a “fool” and “son of a b***h” for “playing with dangerous toys.”