All Asean leaders confirm attendance in rescheduled summit

The postponed summit of Southeast Asian leaders will take place in Cebu from Jan. 10 to 15, a government official said yesterday.

The leaders of all 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members have confirmed their availability, the head of the Philippines organizing committee, Marciano Paynor, said during a radio interview.

Only the leaders of ASEAN’s dialogue partners – China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand — have yet to reply, Paynor said.

President Arroyo made a dramatic last-minute decision to postpone the event, originally set for Dec. 9-13, citing an approaching typhoon.

Officials denied the cancellation came a day after warnings from Britain, the United States, Australia and other nations about a possible terror attack on Cebu. The bad weather eventually spared the island province.

Paynor said that contrary to speculation in the media and even statements from some foreign dignitaries, the only reason for the postponement was the typhoon.

He said that the decision, which was arrived upon after consultations with senior officials of the other ASEAN members who were already in Cebu City, had been justified by subsequent events.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono "will (attend), but we will announce it in time," his spokesman Dino Patti Djalal told AFP in Jakarta earlier this week.

Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont is to join President Arroyo on the new summit date, government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp said in Bangkok.

Malaysian Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was also expected to attend, as will Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, spokesmen for their respective governments told AFP.

Japanese media reports said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was finalizing his schedule to attend the East Asia summit, which joins the 10 ASEAN nations and the six dialogue partners and is held in conjunction with the ASEAN summit. — AFP