All systems go for Summit: Blasts unrelated to Cebu summit

Bolkiah, other leaders arrive

The leaders of Brunei, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar were the early arrivals yesterday among 16 heads of state attending the 12th Asean Summit in Cebu.

The rest are expected to plane in today as organizers decided to press on with the activity, unfazed by a series of bombings in Mindanao that killed at least seven people on the eve of the regional gathering of leaders.

Summit spokesman Victoriano Lecaros hinted that the bombings, which hit the cities of General Santos, Kidapawan and Cotabato Wednesday night, could have been aimed driving officials into a panic so the summit will be called off again.

The summit, originally set for last December, was abruptly postponed for what officials said was the threat of an impending storm. The storm spared Cebu, fueling speculations that the real reason for the postponement had been the series of warnings by Britain, Australia and other countries of a terrorist threat in the Philippines, including Cebu. The same countries have recently reiterated the warnings.

But officials said there will be no second postponement.

" If we do so ( postpone the summit again ) we will just be playing into their hands, " Lecaros said. " The intention is to sow confusion and terror. "

The near-simultaneous bombings in Mindanao may have occurred hundreds of kilometers from the summit venue in Cebu but Philippine National Police chief Oscar Calderon said he suspected a link.

" We suspect it is not isolated because of the timing with the Asean Summit. It looks like they want to send us a message, " he said.

But the head of the summit organizing committee, Marciano Paynor, said the heavily guarded venues were safe despite continued terror warnings from some nations.

" Our venues and all other concerned areas are safe and the delegates are arriving as scheduled. All meetings are a go, " said Paynor.

Foreign ministers and officials who met Thursday morning ahead of the summits shrugged off the overnight attacks.

" All our leaders are very courageous, " said Asean Secretary General Ong Keng Yong. " They are politicians in Southeast Asia, so they all must be brave. So they are all going to come. "

The four leaders who arrived yesterday were Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Bouasone Bouphavanh of Laos, Dato Seri Abdul-lah Ahmad Badawi of Malaysia, and Lt. Gen. Soe Win of Myanmar.

Paynor said the leaders have not issued any formal communications of alarm over the blasts in Mindanao and that even Australian Prime Minister John Howard, whose country was among those that issued the terror warnings, is scheduled to arrive on Sunday. Australia is a dialogue partner of the Asean, along with China, Japan, India, South Korea, and New Zealand.

The leaders of these other dialogue partners have also confirmed their attendance.

President Arroyo is asking members of Asean to join ranks in making the region safe by pushing for the counterterrorism convention.

With terrorism a key concern at the summit, leaders of the 16 nations attending are expected to adopt a legally-binding Convention on Counterterrorism.

A draft covenant urges participants to improve cross-border cooperation to prevent attacks, share intelligence and training, curb terror financing and rehabilitate convicted terrorists.

Security at the various summit and billeting venues have been so tight that even Lecaros, the summit spokesman, was denied entry as he was not among those scheduled to visit one facility that day despite the guards knowing who he was.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia also said she herself had to " beseech " the guards to allow her to enter the Cebu International Convention Center early yesterday in face of the tight security clampdown.

Ministers yesterday finalized the agendas for discussion of the heads of state.

Among the agendas finalized were those for the main 12th Asean Summit itself, the 10th Asean Plus Three Summit ( with China, Japan and South Korea ), the 2nd East Asian Summit, and individual summits between Asean leaders and India and Timor Leste.

Philippine foreign secretary Alberto Romulo said the Asean leaders are poised to consolidate the foundations for an Asean charter.

Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Philippines yesterday renewed faith in the Asean-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea which ensures an atmosphere of peace in the South China Sea amid conflicting claims for a group of islands in the area such as the Spratlys.

Indonesia on the other hand reiterated its full support for Philippine peace efforts in Mindanao and the country's bid for observer status in the Organization of Islamic Conference. - with Agence France Presse/JSTI