15th ASEAN Summit kicks off

THAILAND—Amidst the tightest security that the Thai government could muster, the 15th ASEAN Summit officially commenced yesterday at the Dusit Thani Hotel in the resort town of Cha-am, Hua Hin some 300 kilometers south of Bangkok, Thailand.

With the official theme “Enhancing Connectivity, Empowering Peoples,” the summit aims to show the importance in improving the connectivity of the people in ASEAN in physical and spiritual terms. Much of the topics for discussion will deal on the promotion of educational and cultural cooperation among ASEAN members.

That ASEAN leaders including the leaders of Australia, Japan, Korea, China, New Zealand and India have come to join the Summit is a show of trust and confidence to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who last April was forced to cancel the 15th ASEAN Summit in Pattaya because the red shirt supporters of ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra virtually stormed the hotel where the ASEAN Summit was underway and forced the emergency evacuation of the ASEAN leaders, including Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who was flown by helicopter to a nearby Thai Air Force base to take her flight back to the Philippines. For the Thai people, Prime Minister Abhisit lost face because of that incident.

Acting Thai Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said that 36,000 security personnel have been deployed in the Cha-am Hua Hin resort town and its surroundings. Special routes lined by orange rubber cones provide ASEAN vehicles easy traffic access to the hotels and resorts where the ASEAN leaders and their support teams are billeted. Escape routes have been devised from land, air and sea and the entire Thai Armed Forces are on high alert for any untoward incidents as the Abhisit government vowed never to allow a repeat of the embarrassing incident last April.

The Thai government has spent 296 million Baht on security, including the purchase of 20 bulletproof Range Rovers at the cost of 160 million Baht. The gala dinner alone costs 16.5 million Baht. So far, there were no signs of any disturbances from the supporters of the deposed Thaksin.

Yesterday, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromiya held a press briefing on the outcome of the ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC), the Meeting with the ASEAN Foreign Ministers with the High Level Legal Experts Panel on Follow Up to the ASEAN Charter (HLEG) and the Meeting of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council (ASCC) on the preparation for the Summits, the Meeting finalized the Programme, the Topics of Discussions as well as List of Outcome Documents. There are 43 documents to be signed, adopted or noted by Leaders, Foreign Ministers, Economic Ministers and Socio-Cultural Ministers.

The Foreign Ministers will also sign the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of ASEAN as well as a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on establishing an ASEAN-China Centre. On the operations of the ASEAN secretariat, the meeting considered two reports presented by the secretary general on the operations of the ASEAN Secretariat and on the progress made in the implementation of the roadmap to an ASEAN Community. Also approved was the ASEAN secretariat budget for the 2010 financial year.

In response to the recent natural disasters that struck many countries in the region, the ministers underlined the need to strengthen cooperation in the area of disaster relief and humanitarian response, in order to enhance ASEAN’s capacity to respond to disasters in a more timely and effective manner. These include close cooperation with the military and civil society.

The Foreign Ministers will also sign the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of ASEAN as well as a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Establishing an ASEAN-China Centre. On the operations of the ASEAN Secretariat, the Meeting considered two Reports presented by the Secretary General on the operations of the ASEAN Secretariat and on the progress made in the implementation of the Roadmap to an ASEAN Community. Also approved was the ASEAN Secretariat Budget for the 2010 financial year.

In response to the recent natural disasters that struck many countries in the region, the Ministers underlined the need to strengthen cooperation in the area of disaster relief and humanitarian response, in order to enhance ASEAN’s capacity to respond to disasters in a more timely and effective manner. These include close cooperation with the military and civil society.

“We now formally have in place the ASEAN Charter that will make the organization truly rules-based and more effective in enforcing what has been agreed upon among Member States. To make this achievement more tangible, we have adopted the Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community to guide our community-building efforts in all three pillars. Indeed, an ASEAN Community has begun to institutionally come into place. The Committed of Permanent Representatives in Jakarta has been fully operationalised, and the three ASEAN Community Councils have already convened their respective Meetings to map out measures to achieve their targets and goals envisaged by the Charter,” said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva during the opening ceremonies.

Arroyo and her entourage are expected to arrive at the Hua Hin Airport at 10 a.m. today. The ASEAN Summit ends tomorrow, Sunday. — /WAB (THE FREEMAN)