Spending an extra day in Philippines for 'important meetings': Trump

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has said he would be spending an extra day in the Philippines to attend the East Asia Summit, the White House said.

Trump was to return from the Philippines a day before the summit on November 14 and was to be represented by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

However, minutes before leaving the White House yesterday, Trump told reporters that he would be extending his Asia visit by a day to attend the key summit.

The annual East Asia Summit to be held in the Filipino city of Angeles would see the participation of leaders from 10 ASEAN countries, including India, Russia and China.

"We're staying an extra day, because the following day is actually the most important day," Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One on his way to Hawaii.

Trump left Washington Dc last morning on a 12-day Asia trip to visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Inside the plane on his way to Hawaii, Trump explained that he had planned to spend a day in Hawaii at the end of the trip, but cancelled that plan. Instead, he will stay a day longer at ASEAN in the Philippines, which follows the APEC conference in Vietnam.

"I'm going to spend the extra day at the second conference, which is a very important conference," he said.   "Just have a good time everybody. We'll do a good job. As citizens, we will represent you well. Okay? As reporters, I don't know. But as citizens, definitely. Have a good time.

Nice to see you," said the US president who has been very critical of the media.

"Getting ready to land in Hawaii. Looking so much forward to meeting with our great Military/Veterans at Pearl Harbor!" Trump said in a tweet before he landed in Hawaii.