PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday left for Laos to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summits, aiming to gather support from regional leaders and allies in addressing illegal drugs and terrorism following the weekend bombing in his home city of Davao.

Duterte will be joining his counterparts during the 28th and 29th Asean Summits and Related Summits, his first international engagement since he assumed office on June 30.

In his departure speech at the Davao airport, Duterte said he would take the opportunity to discuss during the meeting issues that affect peace, security, stability and the economy of the region.

“Recent events have shown that there are elements out there who seek to sow terror and wreak havoc in our society. We remain firm in our resolve, to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” Duterte said.

“I will use the opportunity for meeting with other Asean leaders and Asean dialogue partners to seek better support to regional efforts to address terrorism and extreme violent extremism,” he added.

A blast in the Duterte’s home city of Davao that killed 14 people and wounded dozens nearly made him cancel his attendance to the Asean summits in Laos.

Duterte was supposed to leave for Brunei and meet Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on September 4, but chose to stay in the Philippines after the Davao City attack.

In Laos, Duterte said he and Asean leaders would also discuss the way forward in realizing the “Asean Community Vision 2025” of a “rules-based, people oriented, people centered Asean.”

“The security of our region hinges at the cooperation of Asean member states as well as our dialogue partners. Consistent with the Philippines’ cornerstone programs, we will call for renewed cooperation for a drug-free Asean Community,” he said.

The President also said the Philippines would continue to engage with other countries to promote and protect migrant workers and build capacity to improve emergency response and disaster management.

While in Laos, the President is expected to participate in at least a dozen meetings, not counting his bilateral meetings with other leaders.

The President will join the opening ceremony of the Asean summits on Tuesday afternoon in the Laos National Convention Center and join the rest of the Asean leaders for their first plenary meeting.

Asean leaders are expected to issue the “Asean Declaration on One Asean, One Response: Asean Responding to Disasters as One in the Region and Outside the Region,” that will emphasize “Asean’s commitment to respond to disasters as a collective outfit.”

At the end of the summits on Thursday, Laos will hand over the Asean chairmanship to the Philippines.

“I have the honor to accept in behalf of the Philippines the Chairmanship of Asean in 2017 from Laos. This will formally mark an important leadership role for the Philippines in the region as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Association next year,” Duterte said.

From Laos, Duterte will proceed to a working visit to Indonesia, where he will meet President Joko Widodo. </s> VIENTIANE, Laos — A summit of Southeast Asian leaders to discuss issues ranging from terrorism to South China Sea tensions opened Tuesday, overshadowed by the Philippine president’s intemperate comments in his debut appearance at the annual meeting. The insult was made more egregious because of who the target was — President Barack Obama.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte occupied center stage on the eve of the summit Monday when he made comments about Obama that included a “son of a bitch” remark.

He was again in the spotlight Tuesday when he trooped into a conference hall in the Laotian capital of Vientiane wearing a traditional Filipino shirt with sleeves rolled up, and hands in pant pockets. The other male Southeast Asian leaders were dressed in dark business suits. Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi wore a mauve traditional dress.

Filipinos wear the “barong” shirt on formal occasions too, but with sleeves buttoned down at the wrists. Rolled-up sleeves are considered too casual for any formal setting, let alone an Asean summit. Duterte rolled his sleeves down and buttoned them when Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachith gave a speech to open the summit.

“Multifaceted security challenges have occurred in many parts of the world, such as terrorism and extremism, natural disasters, climate change, migration crisis, trafficking in people, territorial disputes and armed conflicts,” Bounnhang said. “At the same time, although the global economy has gradually recovered, growth remains slow and fragile.”

“There is a need for us to closely follow these developments and continue to enhance Asean cooperation and collaboration with the international community,” he said.

The 10-nation Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The summit will be followed by a series of other meetings on Wednesday and a summit Thursday between leaders from Asean and other countries, including the United States, China, Russia, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Obama arrived in Vientiane on Monday night and will attend Thursday’s summit. Duterte also arrived Monday night.

But hours before his arrival, Duterte dropped a diplomatic bombshell by saying he doesn’t want Obama to ask him questions about extrajudicial killings that have occurred amid an ongoing crackdown on drug dealers in the Philippines. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the crackdown since he took office on June 30.

In his typical loose-tongued style, Duterte said: “I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. Putang ina, I will swear at you in that forum,” he said, using the Tagalog phrase for “son of a bitch.”

Obama later canceled a bilateral meeting he was scheduled to have with Duterte in Vientiane. On Tuesday, Duterte expressed regret over the remarks, but the damage was already done.

Duterte is also planning to ask China’s premier at the Vientiane meetings whether China is trying to develop a disputed reef, Scarborough Shoal, off the Philippines’ northwestern coast, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

The shoal is part of the larger dispute in the South China Sea between China and some Asean countries. An international arbitration panel recently ruled that China’s expansive claims in the sea are illegal. Beijing has rejected the ruling as a sham.

Although Asean has the power of the ruling behind it, its summit is unlikely to mention it in its final declaration, a reflection of Beijing’s diplomatic clout.

But according to a draft of the final statement Asean is scheduled to release on Thursday, the region’s leaders will express strong concern about Beijing’s construction of man-made islands in the South China Sea, which Southeast Asian countries fear could destabilize the region.

Duterte said last week that the Philippine coast guard has sighted Chinese barges at Scarborough, which he said could presage the transformation of the Chinese-held reef into another man-made island. One of the Chinese vessels had what appeared to be a crane, according to a Philippine official who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss classified intelligence.

China sparked widespread alarm when it converted seven reefs in the Spratly Islands into islands that the United States says could be transformed into military bases to reinforce Beijing’s territorial claims and intimidate rival claimant countries.

Duterte has taken a more conciliatory stance toward China than his predecessor. But a confirmation of Chinese reclamation activities at Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing ground where Filipino fishermen have been forced away by Beijing’s coast guard, could impede relations.

US officials have also expressed deep concern over the possibility of China developing Scarborough into an island or starting to erect concrete structures there, which could reinforce Beijing’s control over a swath of the South China Sea. </s> The Prime Minister has urged investors to be confident in his government’s commitment to supporting trade and business on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.

Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, in Vientiane of Lao PDR for the 28th and 29th ASEAN Leader Summits being hosted by the Laotian government, has met with his Lao counterpart Thonglun Sisoulith to congratulate him on his country’s work as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He affirmed to the Lao premier that Thailand is ready to support its neighbor in all areas both bilaterally and multilaterally. Gen Prayuth also used the opportunity of their meeting to invite PM Thonglun to the Asia Cooperation Dialogue taking place in Bangkok on October 9-10.

The Thai prime minister then jointed in witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Thailand and Lao PDR on joint energy development, which will see Thailand increase its purchase of power from Lao from 7,000 Megawatts to 9,000. He affirmed to PM Thonglun that he would support infrastructural developments such as more connecting bridges in the future.

After the ceremony, the premier joined his fellow ASEAN leaders in meeting with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council to exchange views on trade and investment in the region. At the discussion, Gen Prayuth assured Thailand is ready to support public-private connections and exchanges of electronic information. He played up the Kingdom’s focus on small and medium enterprises and start-ups and its Thailand 4.0 model. He affirmed to the council that Thailand is ready to facilitate trade and investment to help drive the region’s economy. </s> A summit of Southeast Asian countries and world powers is expected to let China off with a muted reprimand over its expansionist activities in the disputed South China Sea, according to a draft of their joint statement to be released Thursday.

The mild language in the statement, despite growing frustrations in the region over China’s claims, is even more striking given that the summit included President Barack Obama, whose administration has repeatedly expressed concern over Beijing’s actions in the resource-rich sea. The lukewarm rebuke is a reflection of Beijing’s diplomatic, economic and military clout within the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which spearheaded the summit Thursday with the United States, China, Russia, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Together, they are meeting in the East Asia Summit in the Laotian capital.

“We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security and freedom of navigation in and over-flight in the South China Sea,” said the draft of the declaration. The six-page, 28-point declaration devoted one paragraph to the South China Sea.

“Several Leaders remained seriously concerned over recent developments in the South China Sea … We stressed the importance for the parties concerned to resolve their disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international laws,” it said.

The statement made no mention of the land reclamation activities by China, which has turned shoals and coral reefs into seven man-made islands with and built airstrips capable of handling military aircraft on three of them. ASEAN leaders at their earlier summit on Tuesday expressed concern over China’s island-building.

The ASEAN leaders had also said that their summit “took note of the concerns expressed by some leaders on the land reclamations and escalation of activities in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region.”

The use of the phrase “some leaders” in the two statements underscores the fundamental problem ASEAN and the wider East Asia Summit has in dealing with China — not all its members are willing to scold Beijing. Cambodia, for example, remains firmly in China’s camp, as is Laos to a large extent, preventing any robust statement from the consensus-bound ASEAN group.

The issue of ownership of territories in the South China Sea has come to dominate ASEAN summits in recent years. China claims virtually the entire sea as its own, citing historical reasons. That has pitted it against the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, all members of ASEAN, which have overlapping claims.

On July 12, an international arbitration tribunal hearing a complaint filed by the Philippines ruled against China, saying its expansive claims were illegal. It also rebuked China for forcibly preventing Filipinos from fishing in their traditional areas.

Beijing has rejected the ruling and continued its activities. The ASEAN statement and the draft East Asia Summit statement made no mention of the tribunal.

On Wednesday, the Philippines released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, an apparent attempt to publicize its concerns before ASEAN leaders met with Chinese Premier Li Kequiang in Vientiane.

The Philippines is concerned that China may plan to turn the shoal into another man-made island.

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has not done anything to alter the circumstances surrounding the shoal.

“What I can tell you is that the situation in waters near Huangyan Island remains unchanged and China hasn’t made any new moves,” Hua said in Beijing, using the shoal’s Chinese name. “We should be highly alert against the mischief-making intentions of people who spread such groundless information in such situations.”

New Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has taken a more conciliatory approach to China than his predecessor, and has said he would not raise the dispute in an adversarial manner that might upset Beijing.

The U.S. military has also expressed concern over the possibility that China might turn Scarborough into another island, something that would give Beijing’s forces greater control over a swath of the South China Sea used as a passageway to the Taiwan Strait. </s> Vietnam urged other Southeast Asian nations to take a stronger stand against Chinese expansions in the South China Sea, as a tense regional security forum began Saturday at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) with North Korea also under fire over its nuclear program.

Ahead of the launch of the annual gathering of foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Vietnam made a bold play against China with a raft of suggested changes to a planned joint communique.

It set the stage for what was expected to be a fiery few days of Asean diplomacy forum in the Philippines, with the top diplomats from China, the United States, Russia and North Korea joining their Asean and other Asia-Pacific counterparts for security talks.

The meetings will take place as the United Nations Security Council votes this weekend on a US-drafted resolution to toughen sanctions against North Korea to punish the isolated regime for its missile and nuclear tests.

The United States said it would also seek to build unified pressure on the North at the Manila event — known as the Asean Regional Forum — and Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Pyongyang would receive a strong message.

But on the South China Sea dispute — one of Asia’s other top powder keg issues — there was far less consensus with Vietnam resisting efforts by the Philippines to placate Beijing, diplomats told AFP.

The annual meeting of Southeast Asia’s top diplomats opened on Saturday without the usual security overkill. Motorists were allowed through as joggers, cyclists and tennis players sweated under a cloudy sky by the Manila bay — a usual destination of family members who want to get a whiff of the ocean breeze during the weekend. The latest annual meetings of the Asean foreign ministers would also include those from the United States, China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas.

Public traffic was only stopped when the foreign ministers from the 10-member Asean arrived mid-morning Saturday.

According to Metro Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde, President Rodrigo Duterte has shown disdain for security lockdowns that inconvenience the public.

Still, police deployed more than 13,000 officers in the capital and declared no-fly and no-sail zones around the venue. </s> A draft communique of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) seen by Reuters on Monday listed eight points related to the South China Sea, but made no mention of a high-profile July ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated Beijing's territorial claims.

The decision to exclude reference to the ruling represents a diplomatic victory for China, following ASEAN's decision at its last meeting in July to turn down a U.S.-backed proposal to include the landmark ruling in the text.

China refuses to recognize the case brought by the Philippines in 2013. Its outrage over the verdict has created regional concerns that Beijing might take a tougher line in future disputes.

Soon after the ruling in The Hague, the Philippines lobbied strongly at an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting for the verdict to be included in the text of the communique, only for Cambodia, a China ally, to oppose it.

China has been accused of pressuring some countries in the consensus-led, 10-nation bloc to stymie what it sees as unfavorable proposals.

ASEAN does not include China, but leaders and senior representatives from China, the United States and other regional powers are attending the Laos summit.

Experts say that China's approach makes it harder for Southeast Asian states to form a unified front to counter Beijing's assertiveness over the strategic waterway.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte wants to negotiate with Beijing, and has pledged not to rock the boat by discussing the ruling at this week's ASEAN and East Asia Summits in Laos.

But a few days before the meetings, the outspoken leader vowed to make no concessions towards China over the ruling, and demanded that Beijing explain why it had increased its boat presence around the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

Sek Wannamethee, a spokesman for Thailand's foreign ministry, said it was unclear from Senior Officials Meetings (SOM) if Manila would bring its concerns about China to the Laos forum.

"There is no indication at the preparatory ASEAN SOM yet as to what, if anything, the Philippines would raise at the summit regarding the South China Sea," Sek said.

The draft communique contained one new element on the South China Sea, welcoming the adoption of emergency hotlines and rules among ASEAN states and China to prevent military mishaps, known as the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea. </s> BANGKOK — A second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set for Vietnam’s capital from Feb. 27-28.

Trump and Kim met last June in Singapore, outreach the American president has said opened a path to peace. But that face-to-face hasn’t resulted in any solid plan for ridding the North of nuclear weapons.

The Singapore summit made history by simply being the first-ever meeting between sitting leaders of the longtime enemies. It was filled with pageantry and memorable moments, such as the first handshake, walks in a garden, and a brief glimpse inside Trump’s limousine.

This time, observers will be looking for something more concrete.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte defiantly reaffirmed his controversial campaign against illegal substances Tuesday and called for a redoubling of crime-fighting efforts across Southeast Asia as he prepared to face two prominent critics of his policy: President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“We shall not be cowed. We must press on,” he declared in a speech at a business and investment conference on the sidelines of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which he is attending. He called for increased use of intelligence gathering and more arrests.

Duterte also threatened earlier to pull the Philippines out of the United Nations over criticism of his crackdown on illegal substances that has led to a wave of extrajudicial killings. More than 2,000 people have been killed since June 30, when he took office after winning election on a promise to fight crime and corruption.

The summit has been overshadowed by Obama’s canceling of a meeting with Duterte after the latter warned him not to ask about the killings and used profane language when discussing Obama.

On Wednesday, Duterte is to attend a gala dinner with both Obama and Ban, as well as join a meeting that the two leaders will have with ASEAN heads of state and government.

Earlier Tuesday, Duterte expressed regret over his remarks about Obama. </s> VIENTIANE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The Philippines said on Wednesday it was "gravely concerned" that Chinese boats were preparing to build structures at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, shattering an appearance of cordiality at an Asian summit in Laos.

Officials said talks between Southeast Asian leaders and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang went smoothly and there was no tension over a recent ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague that invalidated China's claims to the waterway.

But, hours before the meeting, the Philippines' defence ministry released photographs and a map showing what it said was an increased number of Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal, which China seized after a standoff in 2012.

The ministry's spokesman told reporters in Manila the pictures were made public because China's ambassador to the Philippines had denied there was any new activity there.

"We believed that this is precursor to possible building of structures on the shoal," spokesman Arsenio Andolong said, adding that China's denial was "even more disturbing".

China said there had been no change to the situation around the shoal and it had not taken any new action there.

"Given this situation, some people are hyping the situation by spreading that kind of information," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily briefing in Beijing.

China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts or all of the resource-rich South China Sea, making it a hot spot of regional tension. The last four are members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

China has over the past year alarmed other claimants, and outside powers such as the United States and Japan, by re-claiming land on several disputed reefs through dredging, and building air fields and port facilities.

A Philippines official said the release of the pictures and a map showing the ships' positions was ordered by the defence minister, who was at the ASEAN summit in Vientiane, Laos.

But there was no row over the issue at the summit.

"It seems that every country played down the level of conflict, therefore the tone of the meeting was quite friendly and emphasised peace and security within the region," said Major General Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak, a Thai government spokesman.

The Philippine concern about the shoal comes after a dispute with the United States, its main ally.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte criticised U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, prompting the cancellation of a meeting between them in Laos.

China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.

The United States says it has no position on the territorial disputes but wants to ensure freedom of navigation.

With that in mind, it has conducted patrols close to Chinese-held islands, to Beijing's anger, while China has been bolstering its military presence in the sea.

Although the Scarborough Shoal is merely a few rocks poking above the sea, it is important to the Philippines because of the fish stocks in the area. Manila says China's blockade of the shoal is a violation of international law.

The dispute has become more significant since the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in July that no country had sovereign rights over activity at Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground for Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese. China has refused to recognise the ruling by the court in The Hague.

Duterte wants China to abide by the ruling but he had pledged not to raise the issue during the meeting in Laos.

Instead, he wants to smooth the way for bilateral negotiations and last month sent former President Fidel Ramos as his special envoy to meet Chinese representatives in Hong Kong.

A senior Chinese official said Beijing was confident it could return to a healthy relationship with the Philippines.

"In the past 30 years, the relationship has been very smooth, it's only in the past few years, because of some problems known to all, the relationship has been affected," vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin said at the Laos summit.

A draft ASEAN communique seen by Reuters on Monday listed eight points related to the South China Sea, but made no mention of the arbitration ruling.

The bloc traditionally shies away from taking a position on thorny diplomatic issues, especially where China is concerned, because of its influence in the region.

Still, a Philippine security official travelling with Duterte said it was a challenge for the government to explain to fishermen why they could not return to the Scarborough Shoal area when The Hague had ruled it was a fishing ground for all.

"We won in the arbitral court, but we could not enforce it, how can we explain that to our own fishermen?" said the official, who declined to be identified.

"So, we wanted to talk to China and resolve the issue, but the situation like this is making it more difficult. The president is asking what is China's intentions in the area?"
Laos prepares to host the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summit.