Trump to meet with Philippine's Duterte during Asia trip in November
President Donald Trump will ask U.S. allies to pressure North Korea on its nuclear program in an upcoming trip to the Asia-Pacific region. He'll also meet with controversial Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Trump has praised Duterte for his deadly war on drugs that has left thousands dead, according to a leaked transcript of an April phone call.
In December, Duterte said that in a phone call, Mr. Trump praised his anti-drug crackdown. "He wishing me success in my campaign on the drug problem," Duterte said.
As of August, the operation has slaughtered over 7,000 drug users, according to Human Rights Watch. The Philippine government says human rights groups are conflating regular homicides with drug war-related deaths. The Philippine National Police (PNP) statistics say that 14,160 Filipinos have been killed in homicides in the last year, according to their latest statistics from July. They say that 2,163 of those deaths are drug related and 2,855 are non-drug related. The PNP says the motive for the majority of the murders -- 9,142 – has yet to be determined.
In late April, Mr. Trump drew ire for inviting the widely-criticized leader to the White House after a "very friendly" phone call with Duerte, where the two discussed the global war on drugs. Duterte had since suggested that he may be too "tied up" to visit Washington.
According to a White House statement on the trip, while in the Philippines, the president will participate in the Special Gala Celebration Dinner for the 50th Anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He is also set to celebrate the 40th anniversary of U.S.-ASEAN relations at the U.S.-ASEAN Summit and participate in bilateral meetings with Duterte.
Mr. Trump will also travel to Hawaii, Japan, South Korea, China, and Vietnam from Nov. 3 to Nov. 14.
In South Korea, Mr. Trump will meet with President Moon Jae-in and "call on the international community to join together in maximizing pressure on North Korea."
In Japan, Mr. Trump will meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and participate in a meeting with families of "Japanese citizens abducted by the North Korean regime."
Mr. Trump will also meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang and attend two trade summits.
The White House says the travel will "underscore his commitment to longstanding United States alliances and partnerships, and reaffirm United States leadership in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region."
A portion of the president's trip will fall over the U.S. Veterans Day holiday weekend. Mr. Trump currently does not have any veterans-related events scheduled as of yet.