15th ASEAN Summit kicks off in Thailand

THAILAND: Yesterday, the 15th ASEAN Summit formally opened at the Royal Dusit Grand Ballroom of the Dusit Thani Hotel in the resort town of Cha-Am, Hua Hin, some 300 kilometers south of the Thai capital Bangkok along the Gulf of Thailand. When we arrived at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport, what we did not expect was, it was a three-hour travel on a coaster on Thailand’s very wide freeways to the venue of the summit. That’s the distance from Metro Manila to San Fernando. The Philippine media was part of the 3,000 plus delegates attending the ASEAN Summit.

As we neared the Cha-am, Hua Hin area, the presence of security for the ASEAN delegates became more evident and it is understandably so. After all, it was only last April 11-12 when the ASEAN Summit was underway in Pattaya when the supporters of ousted Thaksin Shinawatra stormed the hotel where the ASEAN leaders were billeted, forcing an emergency evacuation by helicopter of the ASEAN leaders including President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) and the cancellation of the summit. This was a huge embarrassment to the government of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajiva.

This time around, the Thai government is not taking any chances and has deployed a 36,000-strong security force beefed up by the purchase of 20 bullet-proof Range Rovers in order to protect the 16 leaders attending the ASEAN Summit, whose main theme is “Enhancing Connectivity, Empowering Peoples.” There is no doubt that Prime Minister Abhisit will no longer allow a repeat of the ugly incident that happened in Pattaya last April.

Here’s a very interesting fact you should know that in hosting the 15th ASEAN summit, Thailand is spending 439 million baht, which includes a 16.5-million baht gala dinner. On security alone, they spent 296 million baht, and 160 million baht for the 20 Range Rovers. I’m just thinking aloud, what would the opposition in Manila say if President Arroyo spent that much money if we get to host the ASEAN Summit again?

That all the ASEAN leaders and their neighboring countries like China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand have expressed their intentions to attend the summit is a sign of their respect for ASEAN as a regional body to reckon with. Their attendance in the three-day summit is also a way of supporting the legitimacy of Prime Minister Abhisit’s government and a sign of trust that this time around, Thailand can secure the ASEAN summit. So far as we were walking around Hua Hin we didn’t see anyone wearing any yellow shirt, the color of Thaksin’s supporters. 

After the formal opening ceremonies yesterday, Prime Minister Abhisit read his opening statement and then met for an informal meeting with the representatives of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. Later in the afternoon, the ASEAN leaders inaugurated the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, which many critics say is a toothless organization. We’ll have to find out if this commission can really move.

In today’s schedule are the 12th ASEAN-China Summit, the 12th ASEAN-Japan Summit and the 12th ASEAN-ROK Summit, followed by the ASEAN Plus Three Heads of State/Government working lunch. President Arroyo and her entourage arrived in Cha-am, Hua Hin last night and stayed at the Sofitel Centara Grand Resort and Villas. The summit ends tomorrow.

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Today is the 65th anniversary and the fourth commemoration of the “Battle of Sibuyan Sea” which will be marked at Alcantara Beach Park in Alcantara, Romblon. Retired Chief Superintendent Dominador Resos, president of the Romblon Cultural Heritage Association, also invited the commander-in-chief of the US 7th Fleet based in Pearl Harbor. The Battle of Sibuyan Sea was the first major battle or the curtain raiser of the Battle of Leyte Gulf that is dubbed as the “greatest and deadliest naval battle ever recorded in World War II.”

What makes the Battle of Sibuyan Sea extra interesting is that the Mushashi, the world’s biggest battleship (it carried 18-inch guns, while the US battleships had only 16-inchers) and sister ship of the Yamato, was attacked by warplanes from US carriers off Leyte and it sank with her 1,023 crew. While this event has no historical significance in Philippine history, this sinking was a big event for the people living around Romblon as hundreds of bodies floated along the shorelines and beaches and the Filipinos had to burn or bury them. I know that the Romblon Cultural Heritage Association had very ambitious plans to refloat the Mushashi and use it for tourism purposes. I can only wish them well that someday, their dreams would come true.

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