Duterte News: Thai publication: Duterte can't afford foreign foes

President Rodrigo Duterte has landed again in the pages of a foreign publication -- this time, in a Thai news website which warned him against making too many enemies overseas.

Bangkok's The Nation criticized Duterte on Tuesday for hurling verbal tirades against United States President Barack Obama, who has raised the alarm over the rising death toll in the Philippines' war against crime and narcotics.

In an editorial entitled "Duterte can't afford foreign enemies," the site said the Filipino leader cannot pursue international policies amid a chorus of international opposition.

"In an ideal world, sovereign nations would maintain the unchallenged authority to implement any policy without other countries attempting to intervene, not even the superpowers on which so much depends in our interconnected world," the news organization said.

"In reality, however, no national leader has the freedom to pursue policies deemed inappropriate by the international community."

The paper also noted that Duterte's "characteristic gutter language" led to the cancellation of his planned meeting with Obama at the ASEAN Summit last week.

With the cancelled meeting, Filipinos lost a chance to affirm the support of the United States over its conflicting claims with China over the West Philippine Sea, The Nation argued.

"Duterte's brashness achieved nothing. Words that might have reinforced his reputation as a maverick and a tough merely caused embarrassment for his government and countrymen," the editorial added.

The Nation also said Duterte made matters worse by "lying" when he denied making profane comments about Obama.

Source: ABS-CBN