ASEAN foreign ministers postpone talks in Cebu, ASEAN Summit postponed to January due to storm Options

[jhonnz]

http://www.inq7.net/specialfeatures/12thAS...;story_id=37185

ASEAN foreign ministers postpone talks in Cebu

First posted 22:18:54 (Mla time) 2006-12-08
Associated Press

CEBU--Southeast Asian foreign ministers have postponed their meetings in Cebu this weekend because of an approaching storm, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said Friday.

The ministers, who were to meet ahead of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, planned to decide at a breakfast meeting Saturday when to reschedule their talks, Romulo said.

Earlier Friday, organizers postponed the ASEAN leaders' summit until early January because a strong storm was expected to hit the Cebu area over the weekend, when the leaders would be arriving.

The foreign ministers and other officials have already arrived in Cebu.

http://www.inq7.net/specialfeatures/12thAS...;story_id=37151

ASEAN Summit postponed to January due to storm

First posted 21:39:05 (Mla time) 2006-12-08
INQ7.net

CEBU -- (5TH UPDATE) THE 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, scheduled for next week in Cebu, has been postponed to January because of a strong storm bearing down on the meeting site, officials here and abroad said Friday.

Ambassador Marciano Paynor, head of the Philippine organizing committee, made the official announcement Friday in a televised news conference from Cebu province, site of the summit.

Paynor denied that the postponement was made because of the travel advisories of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan that warned of imminent terror attacks at the site of the summit.

“I categorically state that the decision was based on weather disturbance and on this disturbance only,” Paynor said in response to a question by a newsman.

Paynor said the decision was made in consultation with international and national officials and in consideration of the safety and welfare of the participants. He said the postponement also allows government to give its full attention to problems that may arise from the typhoon.

“It was a very difficult decision. This is not a regular summit or conference. There will be leaders,” he said.

“The leaders will not be comfortable attending a summit with devastation going on around them,” he added.

Paynor said the January summit will still be held in Cebu.

In Malacañang, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo agreed with the decision of the organizers to postpone the summit.

"The President has been advised of the recommendation and she agreed to it," Bunye said in a hastily-called news briefing.

Bunye echoed the organizers and said that the postponement was "purely weather-related" and not because of reports of possible terrorist attacks.

Asked why there was a need to reset the date when the typhoon appeared not to be that strong, Bunye said, "We'd like to err on the side of caution."

"Considering all factors, it was the decision of the national organizing committee to postpone the summit rather than hold it in an atmosphere where it will have death and destruction along its path," he said.

"It will go against the grain of the theme, ‘One Caring, One Sharing Community,’" he added.

Bunye said this was not the first time that a conference had been postponed due to bad weather.

He said Indonesia made the same decision when a tsunami had devastated the country in 2004.

"We don't have a crystal ball. Even if the typhoon is expected to hit the northern part of Cebu, what if it deviates a little and veers towards Cebu City? Can you imagine the inconvenience it would cause if there would be no water, no electricity, if you have planes turned upside down?" he said.

Earlier in the day, an Associated Press report from Cebu, quoting Domingo Lucinario, a member of the organizing committee, said: “The leaders’ summit has been reset to January” but added that “all ministerial meetings shall proceed as scheduled,” referring to prior discussions by foreign ministers and other officials.

An Agence France-Presse report quoted a Japanese official issuing a similar statement.

"Both of the summits will be postponed," the foreign ministry official, requesting anonymity, told AFP in Tokyo, referring to the ASEAN Summit and the East Asia summit. "But it is still not known until when they will be postponed."

Forecasters say tropical storm Utor (Philippine codename: Seniang) could intensify into a typhoon. It was packing winds of up to 75 kilometers (46 miles) per hour with gusts of 90 kph (56 mph) early Friday.

A weather bureau official said that was strong enough to "uproot trees and destroy huts."

The Philippines has been hard hit by tropical storms and typhoons in recent months.

A typhoon late last month, with wind speeds up to 150 kilometers an hour, caused landslides that left more than 1,300 people dead or missing.

Utor is expected to hit Cebu province over the weekend, when leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would be flying in for the summit. The summit was scheduled to be held Monday and Tuesday, followed by the second East Asia summit on Wednesday.

Chief Superintendent Silverio Alarcio, Central Visayas police director and Task Force Cebu head, disclosed that his office received reports in June of possible terrorist attacks during the conference but added that the reports were never confirmed.

Australia, Britain, the United States, Japan and New Zealand on Thursday issued travel alerts for Cebu due to reports of an attack on the island, which the Australian foreign ministry said was in the "final stages" of planning.

Just before the postponement was announced, an official of the justice department's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) told reporters that police had been put on alert for a possible threat to Cebu's water supply.

The official, who spoke openly with reporters but declined to be named, said there were fears that two chemical spills earlier this month may have been test runs for an attack on Cebu's water source.

"While the information is not considered an A-1 info, we are not taking chances," he said.

Two Muslim militant groups, the Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front, have been fighting the Philippine government for years. The MILF has observed a three-year truce and has held peace talks with Manila.

The annual summit of the 10-nation ASEAN bloc, and the fledgling expanded regional grouping known as the East Asia Summit, are major events on the Asian diplomatic calendar that draw leaders from across the region.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were due to meet on the sidelines of the gathering.

It was thought unlikely that Wen would still come. Japanese officials said Abe would go ahead with a visit to Manila but would not come to Cebu, which is studded with resort hotels that attract many Western tourists.

"This is the peak tourist season and it remains difficult to get a hotel room," said Gwendolyn Garcia, the governor of Cebu province. "Terrorism is everywhere, even in London."

[Ek-ek]

New storm threatens Cebu party


By Blanche Rivera
Inquirer
Last updated 06:18am (Mla time) 12/08/2006

Published on Page A1 of the December 8, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

RAINS, NOT protest rallies, are likely to blow off course the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Cebu province on Monday as another tropical storm entered the Philippines and appeared to be headed for the Visayas region.

Tropical Depression “Seniang,” the 19th weather disturbance to hit the country, entered the Philippine area of responsibility late yesterday afternoon, packing winds of 55 kilometers per hour near the center, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

Seniang was located 1,010 km east of Southern Leyte as of 4 p.m. and was expected to make landfall on Saturday before moving toward Guian, Samar, on its way to Mactan and Cebu islands on Sunday.

“If this trajectory continues, then it will be a rainy opening for the ASEAN Summit,” PAGASA forecaster Joel Jesusa said in a phone interview.

“By Saturday, we are expecting Seniang to be a typhoon with an intensity of up to 140 kph by Saturday,” he said.

Presidents and prime ministers from 16 countries start arriving in central Cebu and Mactan on Saturday for the opening of the ASEAN Summit on Dec. 11 and the East Asia Summit on Dec. 13.

Protesters have complained of unnecessarily heavy security prepared for the gathering, with the Armed Forces of the Philippines pulling out troops from Jolo town in Sulu province, complete with their arsenal, to secure the venues.

Rains for 2 days

With Seniang moving west at 19 kph and having a huge circulation of 500 km, the troops may not be necessary to disperse protesters as rains are expected to.

“It’s moving fast so there may be rains for two days during the summit,” Jesusa said.

Based on its current direction and intensity, Seniang is likely to hit Samar, Leyte and Cebu next week, but forecasters are optimistic the weather disturbance would be gone ahead of the ASEAN meeting.

“It’s still over the Philippine Sea and will be felt either on Dec. 10 or 11,” PAGASA weather branch chief Nathaniel Cruz said in a phone interview.

“It’s not strong yet, and it may be in the Visayas ahead of the summit … Because of the distance from the Philippines, we expect that it will not affect any part of the country yet although it will bring rains to Bicol as it heads for Visayas,” he said.

Still reeling from ‘Reming’

Moderate to strong winds are still affecting the Bicol region, which has yet to recover from the impact of four typhoons that recently slammed into the region, destroying houses, toppling power and telecommunication lines, and isolating some villages.

PAGASA has advised the National Disaster Coordinating Council of the approaching tropical storm but said the rains may not be strong enough to halt relief and rescue operations in Bicol.

The region is still recovering from Supertyphoon “Reming” (international codename: Durian), which slammed into the country last week. Over 1,000 people are feared to have been killed in a torrent of landslides and flooding.

Official figures on Thursday showed 570 people were killed and 746 are missing when Reming, packing winds of up to 265 kph, unleashed walls of volcanic debris, mud and floodwaters on villages on the slopes of Mayon volcano in Albay province, around 350 km north of Cebu.

More than one million people in 13 eastern provinces were affected, and about 20,000 have gone to evacuation centers. The government has launched a massive cleanup operation with the help of foreign assistance.

Seniang may not be the last tropical storm to enter the Philippines, which is hit by around 20 tropical storms a year, Cruz said. With reports from Reuters and Associated Press

[etano]

This is not due to the storm. The storm is only used as an excuse.