Southeast Asia officials arrive in Philippines for ASEAN Summit

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-11-2007 08:44

Officials from across Southeast Asia have arrived in the Philippine coastal city of Cebu as part of the 12th ASEAN Summit.

The gathering was originally due to take place in December 2006 and aims to seal agreements on counter-terrorism, energy, and trade.

The Summit was postponed to January at the last minute, with officials citing an impending typhoon as the reason for the delay. Full Story >>

Meeting organizers said that while the postponement was unfortunate, all 16 ASEAN leaders would be attending the Summit.

Victoriano Lecaros, ASEAN spoksman, said, "The leaders, by the very nature of their schedules, it was not easy to make those adjustments I'm sure, but make adjustments they did so that every leader who was supposed to come in December has confirmed."

Counter-terrorism will take center stage during the summit. Leaders are to sign a convention clamping down on the unregulated movement of arms and Muslim militants.

Regional security concerns are also likely to dominate meetings on January 14 and 15. This is amid post-coup jitters in Thailand and nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Participants will also sign a declaration on energy security, calling for reduced costs for renewable energy, standards for biofuels, and investment in regional energy infrastructure. All this with the aim of reducing the region's reliance on oil imports.

 

Editor:Du Xiaodan