Diplomacy 101: Don’t Call Your Ally A ‘Son Of A Whore’

Philippines President Duterte hopefully learned a valuable lesson this week: it’s generally unwise to hurl slurs at a powerful, longterm ally. Duterte learned that the hard way after voicing regret for calling US President Obama a “son of a whore,” a comment which prompted the US to cancel their bilateral meeting. The tension couldn’t come at worse time, since Washington is trying to forge a united front with Southeast Asian partners in order to spar with Beijing over the South China Sea. This isn’t the first time Duterte used his favorite Filipino phrase. Before Obama, the US Ambassador to the Philippines and everybody’s pal Pope Francis were also hit with the slur “putang ina.” It’s shaping up to be a promising drinking game.