A day ahead of their planned meeting in Laos for the regional summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte described Obama as a "son of a bitch" to reporters.

Obama learned of the remark on the last day of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China. He said he had told his aides to speak with officials in the Philippines "to find out is this, in fact, a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations."

"I always want to make sure that if I'm having a meeting, that it's actually productive and we're getting something done," Obama told reporters.

Obama will instead meet with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, said Ned Price, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

(DW)