Brownlee meets with controversial Duterte

New Zealand Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Reuters
New Zealand Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Reuters
Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee has met with controversial Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte during a stop-off in the country.

Mr Brownlee was in Manila earlier this week for talks with South-East Asian foreign ministers and to mark the 50th anniversary of ASEAN.

Mr Duterte, who hosted the talks, has earned a notorious reputation for his violent crackdown on illegal drugs in the Philippines, which has left thousands dead.

And while Mr Brownlee himself has been described as undiplomatic on occasion, but none of his faux pas have come close to Duterte's.

The Philippines president once called former US President Barack Obama a "son of a wh**e" - before later claiming that the insult was not personal.

Mr Duterte briefly visited New Zealand on holiday in November, during he which he praised the low crime rate and said he wished he could have settled here.

Mr Brownlee is in now in Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum.

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