After skipping ASEAN, Rice promises to visit Philippines, official says

MANILA (AP) - Southeast Asian countries understood U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's decision to skip a regional conference for a vital Middle East peace mission, an official said Thursday.

Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said Rice called him to explain why she would not be at the ASEAN Regional Forum, which would gather Western and Asian nations in Manila on Aug. 2, Romulo said.

Bolstering peace in the Middle East would be good for Southeast Asia, Romulo said, adding Rice promised to visit the Philippines after her Mideast trip.