Arroyo holds bilateral talks with China, ASEAN leaders


By Joel Guinto
INQ7.net
Last updated 06:12pm (Mla time) 10/30/2006


NANNING, China -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo held bilateral talks with Chinese Premiere Wen Jiabao and her counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ahead of the formal opening of the ASEAN-China commemorative summit here.

The summit, which celebrates the 15th anniversary of China-ASEAN ties, will focus on improving trade and security relations, Arroyo said.

"What we will do is we will assess our current situation and set our direction for the next 15 years," she said in an interview on the eve of the summit.

After Wen, Arroyo is set to meet with leaders from Laos and Malaysia, from whom she would seek help to restart stalled peace negotiations with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Afterwards, Arroyo will meet Liu Quin Bao, secretary of the Communist Party of China's Guangxi Autonomous Region Committee in the southwest, where Nanning City is located.

She will witness the signing of several business agreements before proceeding to the formal opening of the ASEAN-China summit in the early afternoon, where she and Wen are expected to deliver opening and closing remarks.

Arroyo will co-chair the meeting with Wen since the Philippines is the current president of the ASEAN.

Aside from improved trade relations between China and the regional grouping of nations, Arroyo said she would push for a code of conduct on the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea and call for discussions on security concerns caused by North Korea's nuclear testing.