US president offers no public rebuke of Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal drugs crackdown as he nears end of 12-day Asia tour

1. Trump hails 'great relationship' with
Philippines' Duterte
US president offers no public rebuke of Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal drugs
crackdown (mano dura) as he nears end of 12-day Asia tour
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/13/trump-hails-great-
relationship-with-philippines-duterte
Trump boasts of 'great relationship' with Duterte at ASEAN summit -
video
https://youtu.be/jjYaisUhGLc
Oliver Holmes South-east Asia correspondent
Monday 13 November 2017 13.29 GMTFirst published on Monday 13
November 2017 10.50 GMT
Donald Trump has hailed (ha proclamado) his “great relationship”
with the Philippines’ president, Rodrigo Duterte, who stands accused of
acting with impunity over a brutal war on drugs that has left thousands
dead.
The US president made no mention of human rights during brief remarks
to reporters prior to a meeting with his counterpart, and both leaders
ignored shouted questions about the drugs crackdown (mano dura).

2. Trump is in the country with leaders of 18 other nations for two days of
summits on the final leg (tramo, etapa) of a headline-grabbing (que
atrapa los titulares) tour of Asia dominated by the North Korean
nuclear crisis.
According to a spokesman for Duterte, human rights issues were not
raised during the meeting, although the pair did discuss their mutual
distaste for Barack Obama.
“The issue of human rights did not arise. It was not brought up,” Harry
Roque said of a 40-minute conversation in Manila. “It was President
Duterte who brought up with President Trump the drug menace in
the Philippines, and the US president appeared sympathetic (sharing
the same feelings) and did not have any official position on the matter
but was merely nodding his head,” he said.
Trump's tour of Asia
The US president must grapple (fight) with the thorny
(espinosos) issues of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as well
as trade wars in Asia on one of the trickiest diplomatic tours
in decades.
5 November 2017
Japan
Trump warns of the North Korean threat and says Japanese orders for
US-made military equipment will help keep Japan safe. Read more
7 November 2017
South Korea
The North Korea rhetoric softens as the president suggests he is open to
diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis. Read more
8 November 2017
China
Xi Jinping rolls out the red carpet for Trump, who lavishes (prodiga)
praise on his host and blames his American predecessors for the "huge"
trade deficit between the US and China. Read more
10 November 2017
Vietnam
Trump swings (se desliza) through Da Nang for the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation meeting, abruptly ending his diplomatic streak
(characteristic) with a tirade (diatriba) against “violations, cheating
or economic aggression” in the region. Read more
12 November 2017
Philippines
On the final leg of his tour, Trump hails his great relationship with
President Rodrigo Duterte, who shares some populist and mercurial

3. (erratic, volatile) characteristics with his guest, and stands accused of
masterminding (planning) a brutal crackdown on drugs.
Later the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said the
matter of human rights came up “briefly”, although she did not say which
president raised the issue.
Prior to their meeting, Trump said he and Duterte “had a great
relationship”. The Filipino leader then told reporters that the two
presidents would speak privately, ushering out (escorted out)
journalists he jokingly referred to as “spies”.
The duo had earlier shared another laugh when, during a traditional
crossed-arms group photo at the Asean summit, Trump struggled to reach
his neighbours’ hands. A brief struggle ensued (followed), leading to
some awkward photos that quickly spread across social media.
Trump has an awkward handshake with ASEAN leaders – video
https://youtu.be/t3MG39D0eYQ
Roque described the private meeting as “warm and friendly”, adding: “It’s
very apparent that both of them have a person who they consider as not

4. their best friend. They have similar feelings towards former US president
Barack Obama.”
The absence of a proper discussion about rights is sure to anger critics of
Duterte. Rights groups and US politicians had strongly urged
(encouraged) Trump to confront Duterte on the drugs war.
Duterte, a former prosecutor, has taken an indignant stance
(viewpoint) to criticism, warning the Catholic church “don’t fuck with
me” and accusing the UN of issuing “shitting” statements about his
policies. On Friday he boasted (bragged/se jactó de) that he had once
stabbed (attacked with a knife) a person to death, his latest apparent
admission of murder, adding to a list of similar public statements
including a claim (assertion/afirmación) that he pushed a man out of
a helicopter.
“At the age of 16, I already killed someone,” Duterte said during a speech
in Vietnam, where he briefly crossed paths with Trump on the sidelines of
another international summit.
Relations between the US and its former colony, allies since the second
world war, were at a low during Obama’s tenure (time in position).
Duterte has since pushed for better ties with Russia and China.
Trump and Duterte seem to have warmed to each other after meeting for
the first time on Saturday at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec)
group meeting in Vietnam.
On Sunday Duterte crooned a hit Filipino love song called Ikaw (You) at a
gala dinner for summit leaders in Manila, saying it was “on the orders” of
Trump. One of the song’s verses, translated from Filipino, begins: “You
are the light in my world, a half of this heart of mine.”

5. Duterte sings for Trump: ‘You are the light’ – video
https://youtu.be/gkzTDkLH0ak
<iframe width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gkzTDkLH0ak"
frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Trump has generally avoided publicly admonishing (reprimanding,
scolding) foreign leaders for rights abuses and has even shown an
affinity for rulers with autocratic tendencies, including the Egyptian
president, Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Philippine government officials estimate more than 3,000 people have
died in the anti-narcotics drive. Human rights groups believe the death
toll (damage figures) of mostly alleged (presuntos) drug users and
suspected dealers is far higher.
At the two leaders met, hundreds of leftwing protesters clashed in central
Manila with riot police, who used water cannons to disperse the crowds.

6. FacebookTwitterPinterest
Protesters burn an effigy of Donald Trump at a march in Manila. Photograph: Ted
Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images
The demonstrators chanted against the drugs crackdown as well as other
issues such as Trump’s bellicose rhetoric on North Korea. They burnt an
effigy of the US president that showed the billionaire developer with four
arms, all bent into the shape of a swastika.
Duterte has regularly been described as the “Donald Trump of Asia” for
his mercurial temperament and anti-establishment populist support.

7. FacebookTwitterPinterest
At 11 years old, they’re getting pregnant’: the women smashing Catholic taboos in the
Philippines
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/video/2017/jul/10/at-11-years-old-
theyre-getting-pregnant-the-women-smashing-catholic-taboos-in-the-philippines-video
Trump had previously praised Duterte’s bloody crackdown, saying he was
doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem”. He continued to
shower (colmar, llenar) the president with compliments on Monday.
“Rodrigo, I would like to commend (praise) you on your success as
Asean chair at this critical moment of time,” he said at a press conference.
“The show last night was fantastic. And you were fantastic.”
The Duterte meeting came as the US president wound down his 12-day
Asia tour. On Monday Trump also met the Australian prime minister,
Malcolm Turnbull, with whom he had a contentious (disputed,
controversial) phone call last winter, and the Japanese prime minister,
Shinzō Abe, who hosted the president in Tokyo earlier in the trip.
Trump raved (spoke wildly/delirar) about his accomplishments on
his five-nation journey, including on trade and North Korea, but said he

8. would wait until his return to Washington on Wednesday to elaborate
with a “major statement”.