Pubdate: Thu, 11 Aug 2016
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2016 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.utsandiego.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area.
Author: Emily Rauhala

PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT INSULTS AMERICAN AMBASSADOR

The first rule of diplomacy?

Don't call a foreign envoys the "gay son of a whore."

But that's exactly what Rodrigo Duterte, president of the 
Philippines, did in televised remarks made Friday. Now Washington has 
reportedly summoned Manila's charge d'affaires in Washington to 
complain, in what must have been a rather awkward meeting.

Duterte, a fast-talking former mayor who swept to power this spring, 
was telling reporters about his relationship with U.S. Ambassador 
Philip Goldberg when he made the wildly homophobic - and utterly 
undiplomatic - remark.

"As you know, I'm fighting with (Secretary of State John Kerry's) 
ambassador. His gay ambassador, the son of a whore. He pissed me 
off," Duterte said.

During this year's election campaign, Duterte drew national and 
international condemnation for saying he wished he had "been first" 
to rape an Australian missionary who was assaulted and killed during 
a prison riot. The Australian ambassador objected, as did Goldberg. 
Duterte told them both to "shut up."

The not-so-presidential comments come at a sensitive time.

With China pressing its claims to a vast swath of the South China 
Sea, the Philippines and the U.S. have moved to deepen their 
long-standing military alliance. A defense pact upheld this year 
allows the U.S. military to build facilities at five Philippine 
bases, and more U.S. ships than ever are stopping by the former U.S. 
naval base at Subic Bay.

But Duterte has gone back and forth on his relationship with the 
United States, a fact that has raised questions about how he'll 
handle a potential conflict in the South China Sea.

During his campaign, Duterte said he might be willing to make a deal 
with China in return for major infrastructure spending in his home 
district, then quixotically vowed to ride a jet-ski to disputed 
waters. As president, he has thus far taken a more restrained 
approach, potentially laying the groundwork for better ties with China.

Duterte is also facing criticism from the United States and others 
over a bloody crackdown on alleged drug dealers.

Since Duterte took office, more than 400 suspected drug dealers have 
been killed, 4,400 arrested, and more than 600,000 people have 
surrendered themselves to authorities to avoid being killed, reported 
The Associated Press.

"We are concerned by these detentions, as well as the extrajudicial 
killing of individuals suspected to be involved in drug activity in 
the Philippines," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau 
said Monday.

Goldberg is not the first dignitary to be subjected to crude comments 
from Duterte. The now-president once made headlines for calling the 
pope a "son of a whore."

Rauhala writes for The Washington Post.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom