ASEAN Leaders at Philippine Gala Agree to Push Issues Aside

Hidden behind the glitz and glamour of a gala ahead of the ASEAN summit in the Philippines, leaders from across Asia, along with U.S. President Donald Trump, displayed a show of unity in a region wrought with tensions that have dogged Trump's tour of the continent.

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“We have to be friends, the other hotheads would like us to confront China and the rest of the world on so many issues,” Duterte said, as planes carrying heads of state and government attending the summit landed in quick succession in Manila.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte dined with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at its 50th-anniversary ceremony from China, Russia, Japan, Canada, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Pressing political issues such as the thousands of human rights violations in the Philippines, U.S. provocations on the Korean peninsula, and regional disputes over the South China Sea were pushed to the side as the international guests took part in their four-course meal.

Duterte — sometimes described as the "Trump of the East" because of his brash style — said last week he would tell the U.S. president to “lay off” if he raised the issue of human rights when they met.

More than 3,900 Filipinos have been reported killed by the police, which they call self-defense in a war on drugs declared by Duterte, while thousands of other deaths remain unsolved.

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Social movements say executions are taking place with no accountability, often targeting leftists. Trump praised Duterte in May for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem.”

Just hours before, police forces prevented hundreds of anti-Trump protesters from reaching the U.S. embassy in Manila, using a water cannon to disperse the crowd.

Carrying placards declaring “Dump Trump” and “Down with U.S. Imperialism,” the protesters were blocked by police in riot gear with shields and batons, and then showered with jets of water from a fire engine.

Trump will join leaders of Southeast and East Asian nations in Manila over the next two days, the last leg of a tour that has taken him to Japan, South Korea, China and to the APEC summit in Vietnam. The trip has been the longest to Asia by a U.S. president in more than a quarter-century.