The summit opened with unfortunate tensions between the United States and the Philippines. After President Rodrigo Duterte has made offensive remarks about Barack Obama the latter canceled their meeting. Instead, Obama met with South Korean President, Park Geun-hye, to discuss recent security threat posed by another North Korean missiles launch. Duerete has already expressed his regret over the insulting remarks he made, yet, the incident is likely to overshadow the first day of the conference.

Diplomats speculate that issues such as this one might stir the relationship between the United States and the whole region of South East Asia, which Barack Obama wanted to make one of his foreign policy priorities. It also isn’t without significance that Manila, once US colony, has been the country’s long time ally and indeed was supported by the United States in the conflict over the South China Sea. However, Obama also came to Laos to acknowledge the country’s bombing by US forces during the Vietnam War. Although he has not made any official apology, the US president made a promise of further $90 million in aid over the period of the next three years.

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