ASEAN envoys honor STAR publisher at Thai reception

Ambassadors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) honored publisher Max V. Soliven Friday at a luncheon hosted by Thailand’s Ambassador Busba Bunnag at her elegant residence in North Forbes Park.

The group in an informal, free-wheeling exchange discussed the future of ASEAN, the implications of the "terrorist" threat, ASEAN’s relations with other countries in the region, such as China and Japan, with the US, Russia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Soliven spoke briefly and in a "superficial manner" (as he described it) of the successes and drawbacks of the President Macapagal-Arroyo administration, whether the much-speculated-about "challenge" in 2004 of screen idol Fernando (Ronnie) Poe Jr., known as FPJ, was a serious one, the phenomenon of Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson as strong-man figure, and other matters.

The luncheon was briefly but dramatically interrupted by a cellphone call from Zamboanga City to Soliven from our correspondent there, reporting the bombings of Shop-O-Rama and the Shopping Center mall there in which seven persons were killed and dozens wounded.

This gave the group another topic for conversation.