BANGKOK — The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, seldom holds back.
His antidrug crusade has led to the extrajudicial killings of thousands of people. He is fond of boasting about how he has personally killed criminals and even strangers. He unleashes profane diatribes about countries and world figures he dislikes, with the United States often on the receiving end.
But more quietly, he seems to have warmed to the United States and President Trump, who also has a notably provocative style.
As his country hosts a summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, the more charming side of Duterte’s personality has been on display, both in his meetings with Trump and in his foreign policy goal of closer relations with China.
One big reason for his shift in rhetoric when it comes to the United States is clear: Trump is a marked improvement in Duterte’s eyes over Barack Obama, who urged the Philippines leader to follow the rule of law in tackling the illegal drug trade.
Breaking with his White House predecessors, Trump has largely abandoned publicly pressing foreign leaders on human rights.
On Sunday, Trump and Duterte shook hands twice and exchanged pleasantries. Both wore the traditional Philippine dress-shirt called a barong for a group photo and state dinner.
Trump plans to attend the ASEAN conference on Monday to urge allies to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. And he is expected, in meetings with other leaders, to push his agenda for bilateral, rather than multinational, trade agreements.
Trump landed in the Philippines on Sunday to protests by leftist activists, rights groups, and students, who marched in the streets.
Trump and Duterte met for the first time Saturday on the sidelines of an economic summit meeting in Vietnam. The two shook hands and spoke warmly, Philippines officials said.
“These two are talking as friends,’’ said Ramon Casiple, the executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform, a nonprofit promoting democracy in the Philippines. “I don’t see any reasons when they meet face-to-face that there will be any big problems.’’
But the longer-term game for Duterte has been his determination to court China. Since his election, he has backed down from contentious territorial disputes with Beijing — last week, he halted a construction project in the South China Sea that brought Chinese complaints — despite an international ruling early in his presidency that backed the Philippines.
Harry Roque, a spokesman for Duterte, described his policy as a deliberate turn toward closer relationships with countries in Asia, and with China in particular.
Duterte hopes his strategy will bring billions of dollars in investment from China, although the money has been slow in coming, said Richard Javad Heydarian, an assistant professor of political science at De La Salle University in Manila.
Still, the United States and its former colony are treaty allies with a long history of cooperation. And it is clear that Duterte’s and Trump’s styles seem to mesh more than clash.
Trump set the stage for improved relations when he called Duterte in April and congratulated him for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem.’’ The United States also provided valuable military assistance — including drones and intelligence — that proved instrumental in defeating Islamic extremists during a five-month siege of Marawi City, which ended last month.
On Sunday, Trump offered to help mediate the disputes in the South China Sea, which have also pit China against Vietnam and other countries in the region. “I’m a very good mediator and arbitrator,’’ he said at the start of a meeting in Hanoi with Vietnam’s president, Tran Dai Quang.
Last year, Duterte called for a “separation’’ from the United States, threatened to expel US troops and accused the CIA of plotting to kill him. When asked how he would respond if the US president were to criticize his antidrug campaign, Duterte replied with a vulgar epithet to describe Obama, who was president at the time.
Roque said Duterte changed his tune after seeing the value of US help in Marawi. “He hasn’t been criticizing the United States lately,’’ Roque said. “He looks forward to closer ties with the United States.’’
Trump has been tied to the Philippines for years through his business dealings. Trump Tower at Century City, a $150 million, 57-story residential building, has been under construction since 2012 in metropolitan Manila.
