Trash talk in the Philippines reveals waste trails in Southeast Asia

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is notorious for exhibiting an unconventional diplomatic style and in recent weeks, ahead of local elections, he has picked a new foe. Duterte has been trash-talking the Canadian government – quite literally – insisting that containers of rubbish sent from Canada which have been sitting unwanted in Manila International Container Port and Subic Container Terminal for about five years be immediately returned to their country of origin.

“I want a boat prepared,” Duterte railed in an outburst picked up by international media, threatening the Canadian government that “they better pull that thing out or I will set sail to Canada and dump their garbage there”. Never one for understatement, Duterte went even further:

“Let’s fight Canada. I will declare war against them.”