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Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Japan prime minister to attend January summit
MORE countries confirmed their attendance in the rescheduled summit of Southeast Asian and East Asian leaders in January next year.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be coming to Cebu after a tour of Britain, France, Germany and Belgium, Tokyo announced Monday.
Sun.Star Network Online's 12th Asean Summit Watch
Abe will head to Europe from Jan. 9 to 13 for talks on strengthening bilateral relations and on cooperation over international issues such as North Korea, chief government spokesman Yasuhisa Shiozaki said.
After the lightning European tour, Abe will head directly to the Philippines from Jan. 14 to 15 to attend the East Asia summit, which was cancelled this month because of typhoon Seniang.
Speculations were rife that terrorist threats and a brewing political storm were the reason for the postponement and not the bad weather.
News reports had previously said Abe may find it difficult to attend the rescheduled East Asia summit due to the tour of Europe and parliamentary sessions.
The twin summits were set last Dec. 10 to 14, but were moved to Jan. 8 to 13 or Jan. 10 to 15, whichever dates will fit the leaders' schedule.
Abe, who took office in late September, is expected to use the meeting in the Philippines to try to further repair ties with China and South Korea.
Relations were strained under Abe's predecessor Junichiro Koizumi due to his repeated visits to a controversial war shrine.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Luis Cruz also said, quoting a report from Ambassador Susan Castrence, the country's envoy to Seoul, South Korea also confirmed its attendance.
What remained to be determined was whether South Korea will be represented by its President Roh Moo-hyun or by Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook.
Japan and South Korea, as well as China, India, Australia, and New Zealand are the dialogue partners of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
After all the preparations for the Asean summit in Cebu, Cebuanos deserve to remain as host of the Southeast Asian and East Asian leaders, a Cebu City official said, amid speculations on the possible transfer of the summits to Manila.
The postponement of the 12th Asean summit has already caused so much disappointment among the Cebuanos, Vice Mayor Michael Rama said, but he believes that keeping the summit in Cebu will somehow make up for it.
"The summit has been postponed without prior notice and that has caused so much disappointed already, especially since some had to be dislocated and we had to accept the ill effects of the postponement," Rama told reporters Monday.
Since the postponement, talks have been circulating that the summit will no longer push through or if it does, it will no longer be held in Cebu.
"For them to entertain that idea (of a transfer) will stick to the minds of each Cebuano, how much we have been affected especially that up to today, we can't accept the reason of the postponement. Utmost unfairness has been committed to all of us," Rama said.
He said he never accepted the organizers' reason for the postponement of the summit because Cebu City officials were not part of the decision-making, "we had to take it at face value."
Ambassador to the Asean Marciano Paynor Jr. earlier said, though, that the local governments and foreign representatives were consulted before the postponement was announced last Dec. 8.
He also said that its "500 percent" definite that the summits will be held in Cebu.
Meanwhile, newly appointed Task Force Asean Chief Antonio Billones said there won't be many changes in the security preparations for the heads of state and other delegates.
Billones replaced Deputy Director General Isidro Lapeña, who is set to retire on Jan. 2.
Billones held a closed-door meeting with Police Regional Office 7 Director Silverio Alarcio and other key officials in the region at the abandoned Uniwide building across the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) Monday afternoon.
The newly constructed CICC at the Mandaue Reclamation Area will be the main venue of the summits.
Billones visited Cebu Monday to "familiarize" himself with the details for the security preparations.
The job is not so new to Billones since he was already involved in the planning and preparation for the summits.
He was among those who inspected the hotels and road network.
Billones said that another dry run will be implemented but this will depend on the national organizing committee.
"Planning is based on a worst-case scenario. That's our approach to security preparation," he said. (AFP/LCR & AAG of Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Baguio. (December 19, 2006 issue)
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