Duterte words signal change
US President Barack Obama cancelled a planned meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte because the latter referred to him as a "son of a whore".
Duterte's pejorative words may not have been meant personally as the Philippine president habitually uses colorful language and he has apologized through his spokesperson to Obama. However, analysts point out that the cancelled meeting may herald an emerging crack in US-Philippine ties, and that his use of such words may have been a calculated attempt to gain more leverage in his dealings with the US.
Duterte has made a series of changes to his country's ties with the United States since he took office as he has sought to correct his predecessor's excessive pro-US foreign policy that seriously undermined ties with China and other countries.
