Duterte almost justified his statement on Friday by saying that he thought UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a fool for bringing up the issue of human rights violations weeks before the

summit in Laos. Duterte also said he would try to boost security for ships using the waters between Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, where there have been several kidnappings and

other attacks. The Philippines would let Indonesian forces pursuing pirates enter its waters, he said. He insisted his remarks were not directed at Obama but at the US State Department,

which has raised concerns over potential human rights violations in Duterte’s anti-crime campaign which has left almost 3,000 dead in just over two months. _(This article has been edited for