President Trump will not criticize Mr. Duterte on the war on drugs

(Baonghean.vn)- It is expected that during the summit between US President Donald Trump and his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on November 13, the leaders of the two countries will not publicly mention the strong anti-drug war that the Philippine leader is conducting.

“The US president seems to be very comfortable with ‘authoritarian leaders,’” said Mike Chinoy, a senior fellow at the US-China Institute at the University of Southern California. “He will not criticize his counterpart Duterte. I would not be surprised if President Trump praises his counterpart Duterte.”

US President Donald Trump and his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: AP

“I think human rights groups will be quite disappointed by the US President’s visit to the Philippines,” said Amy Searight, director of the Southeast Asia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Human rights, the rule of law, or due process are unlikely to be topics that President Trump will raise in his meeting with the host country’s leader.”

However, advisers say the US leader may make criticisms in private meetings with President Duterte. Mr. Trump will not criticize publicly to avoid embarrassing his counterpart Duterte, because President Trump is urging Mr. Duterte to help contain North Korea as well as in the fight against terrorism.

Trump will also avoid pitting Duterte against China. “The right thing to do is to maintain good relations with Manila and not let Duterte have a close relationship with Beijing,” said Gordon Chang, an Asia expert and author of “Nuclear Debate: North Korea Challenges the World.” “To confront China, we need to be friends with everyone we can.”

However, President Duterte has recently appeared to be less concerned about the strategic partnership with the US. Searight added that for the US, a good relationship with the Philippines “is important, given the Philippines’ position in the South China Sea and the increased access the US military has had to the Philippines in recent years.”

Lan Ha

(According to SCMP)