Duterte meets with Japanese PM Abe on sidelines of ASEAN Summit

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday held a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Singapore.

Details of the meeting have yet to be released by Malacañang, although Duterte said earlier in the day that he wanted to discuss with Abe the need for a code of conduct in the disputed South China Sea, trade and commerce, and the developments in the Korean Peninsula.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Pres. Duterte in bilateral meet today @gmanews pic.twitter.com/aXXZfi1sqv

— Joseph Morong (@Joseph_Morong) November 15, 2018

The Presidential Communications Operations Office provided a transcript of the two leaders' greetings to each other at the 21st ASEAN-Japan Summit on Wednesday.

"I have another opportunity to continue working with you and so it is a great pleasure for me," Abe told Duterte.

"So today I look forward to having a productive discussion with you on strengthening Japan-Philippines cooperation in the area of consolidation of peace as well as infrastructure development," he added.

Abe also offered his condolences for the loss of lives due to recent typhoons in the Philippines.

Duterte thanked Japan for its solidarity and offer of assistance during Typhoon Ompong, stressing that greater ASEAN-Japan collaboration should be done on the area of climate change and disaster resilience.

He also noted greater security cooperation between ASEAN and Japan in counter-terrorism and a wider support for a drug-free region.

Duterte's trip to Singapore, however, courted criticism after he skipped several meetings on Wednesday to catch up on sleep.

The President did not attend six of the 11 meetings and events on the second day of the summit on Wednesday, including the gala dinner Singapore hosted for heads of government.

Malacañang said Duterte hardly slept the night before and needed to take power naps in between meetings.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. represented the President in the events Duterte missed.

Critics immediately pounced on his absence from the meetings, with the Makabayan bloc claiming Duterte skipped the ASEAN events to avoid questions on the human rights situation in the Philippines and his South China Sea policy.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a fierce Duterte critic, said the President's absence may either be an indication of serious illness or laziness.

Locsin downplayed Duterte's decision to skip several meetings, disputing observations that it was a missed opportunity for the country.

"I thought overall it was more than he should have done," the Cabinet official said at a news conference in Singapore.

Duterte attended the meetings lined up for the last day of the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits which concluded with the turn over of the rotating chairmanship of the organization from Singapore to next year's host Thailand. — BM, GMA News