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Article snippet: MANILA — President Trump said on Monday that he had a “great relationship” with President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, an authoritarian leader accused of carrying out a brutal campaign of extrajudicial killings in his nation’s war on drugs. The two leaders declined to answer questions during brief remarks to reporters on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, summit meeting in Manila. But as they sat side by side, Mr. Trump and Mr. Duterte projected a friendly dynamic, ribbing members of the news media as they prepared to speak privately. “We’ve had a great relationship,” Mr. Trump said. “This has been very successful.” As journalists shouted questions about whether Mr. Trump would press Mr. Duterte on human rights, the Philippine president quickly silenced them. “Whoa, whoa — this is not the press statement,” Mr. Duterte said. “We are in a bilateral meeting.” “You are the spies,” he told the reporters, eliciting a hearty laugh from Mr. Trump before the journalists were led out of the room. Later, Harry Roque, a Philippine presidential spokesman, elaborated on what the men discussed, saying Mr. Duterte had discussed the drug menace in the country. “The issue of human rights did not arise,” he said. “It was not brought up.” Mr. Roque said Mr. Trump focused on concerns about tariffs being imposed on American vehicles but not Japanese cars. On the streets of Manila, meanwhile, a phalanx of about a hundred riot police officers wi... Link to the full article to read more