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

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Donald Trump has hailed 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.

Trump is in the country with leaders of 18 other nations for two days of summits on the final leg of a headline-grabbing tour of Asia dominated by the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Q&A Why is Duterte's war on drugs controversial? Show Hide The war on drugs waged by Rodrigo Duterte is controversial because of its exceptionally high death toll, concerns that innocent people have been killed and a sense that the president and authorities are acting with impunity. According to the latest government statistics, 3,967 “drug personalities” died in anti-drug operations between July 2016 and 25 October 2017. Another 2,290 people were murdered in drug-related crimes, while thousands of other deaths remain unsolved, according to government data. Duterte won last year’s presidential elections after promising to eradicate illegal drugs with an unprecedented crackdown that would lead to up to 100,000 people being killed. Critics at home and abroad say he is orchestrating a campaign of extrajudicial mass murder, carried out by corrupt police and hired vigilantes. He at times denies inciting police or others to kill, but also consistently generates headlines for his abusive language and incendiary comments defending the drug war. Photograph: Aaron Favila/AP

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 and did not have any official position on the matter but was merely nodding his head,” he said.

Timeline Trump's tour of Asia Show Hide The US president must grapple with the thorny issues of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as well as trade wars in Asia on one of the trickiest diplomatic tours in decades. Japan Trump warns of the North Korean threat and says Japanese orders for US-made military equipment will help keep Japan safe. Read more South Korea The North Korea rhetoric softens as the president suggests he is open to diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis. Read more China Xi Jinping rolls out the red carpet for Trump, who lavishes praise on his host and blames his American predecessors for the "huge" trade deficit between the US and China. Read more Vietnam Trump swings through Da Nang for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, abruptly ending his diplomatic streak with a tirade against “violations, cheating or economic aggression” in the region. Read more Philippines On the final leg of his tour, Trump hails his great relationship with President Rodrigo Duterte, who shares some populist and mercurial characteristics with his guest, and stands accused of masterminding a brutal crackdown on drugs. Read more

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 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, leading to some awkward photos that quickly spread across social media.

Play Video 0:20 Trump has an awkward handshake with ASEAN leaders - video

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 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 Trump to confront Duterte on the drugs war.

Duterte, a former prosecutor, has taken an indignant stance 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 that he had once stabbed a person to death, his latest apparent admission of murder, adding to a list of similar public statements including a claim 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. 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.”

Play Video 0:45 Duterte sings for Trump: ‘You are the light’ – video

Trump has generally avoided publicly admonishing 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 of mostly alleged 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.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest 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.

Trump had previously praised Duterte’s bloody crackdown, saying he was doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem”. He continued to shower the president with compliments on Monday.



“Rodrigo, I would like to commend 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 phone call last winter, and the Japanese prime minister, Shinzō Abe, who hosted the president in Tokyo earlier in the trip.

Trump raved about his accomplishments on his five-nation journey, including on trade and North Korea, but said he would wait until his return to Washington on Wednesday to elaborate with a “major statement”.