President Barack Obama has cancelled his first meeting with Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, after Duterte described Obama in vulgar terms , on Tuesday.

Duterte, a plain-spoken populist known for his colorful remarks and his campaign against illegal drugs in which thousands of people have died, described Obama as a "son of a b@#$%" to reporters on Monday, shortly before the planned meeting in Laos, where South Asian leaders will meet for annual summits.

Obama learned about the insult as he emerged from the Group of 20 summit in Hangzhou, China. At a news conference, he said that he had told his aides to speak with Philippine officials "to find out is this, in fact, a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations," leaving little doubt that the meeting would proceed as planned.

Obama stated, "I always want to make sure that if I'm having a meeting, that it's actually productive and we're getting something done”.  According to Ned Price, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, Obama now plans to meet later on Tuesday with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, a meeting where the response to North Korea's latest missile tests is expected to be on the agenda.

Obama had arrived in Vientiane shortly before midnight on Monday, for the first visit by a sitting US president to Laos, where he wanted to begin to address the legacy of US bombing during the Vietnam War.

He was set to give an address on the importance he has placed on Southeast Asia in his foreign and economic policy during his two terms in office, which will end on January 20, setting the stage for three days of meetings with regional leaders.

The White House informed that, Obama did not plan to pull any punches on his concerns about human rights abuses in the Philippines, its treaty ally, when meeting Duterte.

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By Prakriti Neogi