The Philippine flag was displayed inverted behind Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III when leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations came to New York on Friday Sept. 24 to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss important matters. What was seen as an “Insult” during the ASEAN summit, was later said to be an honest mistake by the U.S. government on Sunday.
The inverted flag signifies that a nation is in a state of war or in distress, which the Philippines wasn’t in.
“This was an honest mistake,” U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson released in a statement, adding, “the U.S. treasures its close relationship and close partnership with the Philippines.”
Philippine foreign affairs department spokesman Ed Malaya agrees that it was an “honest error” by the U.S. government and that it shouldn’t detract from the real significance of the summit, which showed the unprecedented cooperation between the ASEAN and the United States.
Photo of the inverted flag: The Philippine flag was shown with the red part at the top and the blue part at the bottom, indicating the Asian country is at war. (Photo by: /Malacañang Photo Bureau)
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