Manila:
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed the decision of United States President Donald Trump to extend his stay in the Philippines from one to two days, allowing him to attend both the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders’ summit and the East Asia Summit, a spokesman said.
“The Palace welcomes the announcement of the White House that President Donald Trump would extend his stay in the Philippines to attend the East Asia Summit (EAS),” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said on a government-run TV.
“The (Philippine) President looks forward to engaging President Trump in the productive dialogue at the ASEAN-US Commemorative Summit and the EAS.” he added.
“We’re actually staying an extra day in the Philippines,” Trump announced in Washington earlier, following criticism that his absence at the EAS, an important regional summit would impact on the US as an influential world leader
At the ASEAN and EAS meetings, Trump was expected to put more pressure on North Korea to stop its nuclear adventures, and to avert possible nuclear crisis in the region.
Trump earlier scheduled a stay in Manila up to November 13, which would allow him to attend only the ASEAN leaders’ summit and miss EAS.
The EAS is a meeting of 10 ASEAN leaders and their dialogue partners from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the US. The EAS has been a major platform of economic, geopolitical, and security issues that affect the world.
Trump will be in Manila starting Nov. 12 and will leave on Nov 14. It would be his first visit to the Philippines — this year’s host of the ASEAN leaders’ summit including all other ASEAN-related events.
The US and the Philippines have been long-time military allies. Duterte and Trump are expected to have better relations because the latter has not criticised the Philippine government’s drug-war.
Duterte and Trump will meet earlier in Danang, Vietnam when they attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Last year, US-Philippine ties turned frosty after Duterte lambasted outgoing US President Barack Obama — he criticised the Philippine government’s relentless campaign against illegal drug trade which has killed 3,800 since Duterte was elected president in May 2016.
Last year, Duterte has also pivoted to China and Russia, perceived rivals of the US, for development assistance.
