As Laos gets ready to host two ASEAN summits back to back this week from tomorrow, one leader who will get much media attention will be President Rodrigo Duterte.
The newly-elected Philippine leader may be very popular in his country but to the world outside, the first impression is that he is someone who shoots from the hip.
He has criticised many people, from US President Barack Obama and UN secretary-general Ban Ki- moon to even calling the US ambassador to the Philippines “gay son of a whore” after accusing him of meddling during the presidential campaign.
Several ASEAN diplomats who are accompanying their leaders for the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits are of the view that Duterte may seem brash but in Vientiane this week, he may be a different person.
“First of all, the Philippines will take over the ASEAN chairmanship from Laos next year.
“Like previous ASEAN chairs, surely the Philippines will want to forward certain ideas that need support from other ASEAN countries. ASEAN works by consensus; if you don’t get support from even one country, you cannot move,” said one of the diplomats.
The ASEAN way of consensus may, in fact, frustrate Duterte.
“He is a different man, he has a mind of his own. It is interesting to have this character at ASEAN meetings, but at the end of the day, how do you conduct diplomacy in a regional grouping that ideally supports each other and must be seen as united?” said another diplomat.
For the first time, Laos decided to hold the 28th and 29th summits back to back this year, unlike previous years, such as in Kuala Lumpur where the summits were held in April and November.
Diplomats cited the lack of resources and manpower as the reason.
It will be the first time Duterte is sitting together with his ASEAN colleagues where every word he utters and gesture he makes will be closely scrutinised.
After the 10 leaders of ASEAN meet, they will face their dialogue partners, including Obama, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Interestingly, the Philippine and Chinese leaders will be in the same room after the international tribunal arbitration awarded in Manila’s favour that China’s claim to historical and economic rights in most of the South China Sea had no legal basis.
Duterte already indicated in interviews last week that he would not raise the issue in Laos. So, the anticipated fireworks may not happen.
It will also be farewell for Obama, who is making his last ASEAN summit appearance as his presidency ends soon.
Obama hosted ASEAN leaders in Sunnylands, California, in February, the first to be held in the United States as US-ASEAN relations were elevated to strategic partnership and in the shadows of China’s increasing influence among ASEAN countries.
Another interesting leader making a first appearance will be Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi.
ASEAN officials confirmed that Suu Kyi, who is Myanmar State Counsellor, will represent President Htin Kyaw.
This is the second time Suu Kyi is attending an ASEAN meeting.
She attended the ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting here in July.
Officials noted in the past that Suu Kyi was frustrated with the grouping’s policy of non-interference in domestic affairs of an ASEAN member and instead held constructive engagement with the military junta to release her from house arrest.
“Her statements during the July meeting have been quite conciliatory, like over the South China Sea issue. She used words like patience and understanding.
“Now that she is in power she understands how ASEAN works because she has her own problems domestically,” said an official in an obvious reference to the oppressed Rohingya Muslims.
Suu Kyi has been criticised for saying too little about the abuses faced by the Rohingya Muslims.
She said the world needed to give her space to sort out her nation’s ills.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is scheduled to arrive today.
