Thursday, December 15, 2016

Rodrigo Duterte on potentially awkward trip to Singapore, which he once called ‘a garrison pretending to be a country’

Controversial Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte may contain his signature colourful language when he arrives in Singapore today for a two-day state visit.

The Southeast Asian nation has been a victim of the president’s infamous verbal tirades, whose other targets have included Pope Francis and Barack Obama, among others. Last year, the 71-year old recalled how he burned a Singapore flag in 1995 to protest against the execution of a Filipina maid.

“F*** you ... You are a garrison pretending to be a country,” he said in a November 2015 speech, referring to the city state.

Singapore doesn’t take too kindly to insults. In the past, the country’s leaders have sued and won damages or out-of-court settlements from foreign publications, including the International Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and The Economist, for defamatory allegations.

Duterte, who met with Cambodia’s government earlier this week, isn’t expected to apologise for his previous remarks, but he may be extra cautious on this trip. Full story...

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