No security threat seen for ASEAN meet, say police official

Philippine officials gave assurance Wednesday there will be no security threat against the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and the related meetings at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) arising from ongoing military operations in the island province of Basilan.

Deputy Director General Avelino Razon of the Philippine National Police, security head for the 40th AMM, said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the PNP continue to monitor the security situation but are not worried that any military operation in Basilan will spill over and threaten the international conference in Manila.

The Philippine government will deploy a 6,533-strong security force to secure the delegates to the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) and two related meetings in Manila from July 29 to Aug. 2.

Included in this force are 45 personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard to secure the waters surrounding the PICC Complex in Manila and nearby areas and 200 personnel from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to direct traffic and assist motorists affected by the traffic rerouting as a result of the closure of the PICC Complex to vehicular traffic. The rest are police personnel from the PNP.

"We are in direct coordination with the AFP. We feel that the operations of the Armed Forces in Basilan to run after the elements that beheaded the Marines will not affect the conduct of the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting," Razon said.

He said the security force from the PNP and the AFP and other government agencies detailed to secure the facilities that will be used for the 40th AMM and related meetings and the hundreds of foreign and local delegates attending them have made adequate preparations to prevent any untoward incident.

"The AFP and the PNP have made preparations to contain the operations in Basilan so that there will be no spillover of the operations outside Basilan," Razon stressed.

Aside from the 40th AMM, the Philippines is also hosting the Post Ministerial Conferences (PMCs) and the 14th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

The three meetings will be attended by the foreign ministers of the 10 ASEAN members and 17 other countries that include some of the world’s big powers like the United States, China, the Russian Federation, Japan, Canada and the European Union.

The ASEAN members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.