OPINION
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY April 16 - 30, 2017
Trump, Trudeau expected in Manila for ASEAN summit
The Philippines will
host a summit of leaders
of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), plus other
world leaders.
The
summit
in
November
2017
will be attended by
over 22 VIPs — all 10
ASEAN states plus their
dialogue partners, the
heads of state or heads
of government of the
United States, Russia,
India, China, Japan,
Korea, European Union,
Canada, New Zealand,
Australia, and East Timor,
and the United Nations
Secretary- General
António Guterres.
Ambassador
Marciano Paynor Jr.,
ASEAN 2017 National
Organizing
Council
(NOC) Director-General
for Operations, said the
Philippine government
expects 100 percent
attendance in multilateral
meetings.
Paynor said that U.S.
President Donald Trump is
likely to attend.
“As of now, President
Trump for instance, when
[Philippine]President
[Rodrigo] Duterte called him
up to congratulate him, had
already indicated that he was
coming in November. So at
least verbally he said he was
coming. I am almost sure
that the nine other ASEAN
member states will also be
coming back in November,”
he said.
“The usual dialogue
partners — Japan, Korea
— China, Japan, Korea, I
am sure, Australia and New
Zealand, they have never
missed any of these meetings.
So there will be one or two
who may not be able to come
but this is because of let
say internal issues with their
individual countries,” Paynor
said.
Canadian
Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau is
also expected to attend the
ASEAN summit hosted by the
Philippines in November.
Trudeau visited Manila
in November 2015 for the
summit of leaders of countries
belonging to the Asia Pacific
Economic
Cooperation
forum.
ASEAN member states
are
Brunei
Darussalam,
Cambodia,
Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines,
Singapore,
Thailand, and Vietnam.
The November 2017
summit will also mark
ASEAN’s 50th anniversary.
Due to recent events,
the Philippines has beefed
up security preparations in
Bohol, where an ASEAN trade
meeting is underway, and
in Manila ahead of the 30th
ASEAN Summit and Related
Meetings which will be held
from April 26 to 29.
In a press briefing in
Malacañang, Paynor
said
security has always been
the top priority of organizers
given the participation of
heads of states and other
top government officials in
the various meetings and
summits throughout the year.
“Philippine
hosting
of ASEAN in 2017 is a total
number 137 meetings, two
summits,
17
ministerial
meetings, 42 senior officials
meetings, and 76 technical
working group meetings,”
Paynor said.
But due to the recent
incident in Bohol, security
preparations has become a
special concern even among
delegates.
Recently, suspected Abu
Sayyaf members engaged
government troopers in a
gunfight in Inabanga town
that resulted to the killing of
six suspected members of the
bandit group, three soldiers,
and one policeman.
The area is some 71
kilometers from the capital
Tagbilaran City and the
adjoining Panglao Island where
ASEAN traders are attending
the Intercessional Regional
Economic Partnership Trade
Negotiating Committee from
April 19 to 21.
“When the incidents
unfolded last week, we, of
course, had an emergency
meeting and as part of the
NOC, we have a Committee
on Security and Disaster
Preparedness. So they went
to Bohol, I did go also and
we had a brief meeting,”
Paynor said.
He said the Security
Committee
felt
that
the situation has been
contained and therefore,
the meeting should go on
adding that “it was natural,
of course, for some of the
Embassies to ask us our
plans.”
“We have, of course,
alternate plans and that
meeting would have been
held here in Manila had it
been necessary to do so.
But we always say we will
not be coerced or held
hostage by these actions.
But at the same time, we
need to be sure that we
can assure the safety of
the delegates. So as of
now, the meeting is a go,”
Paynor said.
As for the upcoming
leaders’ summit in Manila,
the official said that their
number one priority is to
have a sense zero-incident
type of meeting.
“It’s very difficult to
prepare for something that
you are not really totally and
fully aware of. So we try as
much as we can to hardened
venues… in our security
preparations, keeping in mind
also the President Rodrigo
Duterte’s directive that we
should not hamper or hinder
the normal flow of daily
activities here in the Metro
Manila area,” he said.
“So we’re doing all that
and because of this most
recent incident, we are beefing
up our security elements,”
Paynor said.
The April and November
summits will be particularly
heavy in terms of security.
The April 29 summit to
be attended by leaders of all
10 ASEAN member-states.
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