ASEAN meet postponed because of weather

Efforts to hold two Asian summits limped to a dreary end yesterday as officials who had come to the Philippines tackled what little work they could while arranging flights home as Typhoon Utor hit the country.

Steady rain fell from the leading edge of the typhoon, which officials blamed on Friday for postponing for a month the scheduled ASEAN summit and an East Asia summit.

The officials insisted the postponement had nothing to do with warnings of a possible terror attack that several foreign embassies had issued on Thursday.

"I think the Philippine authorities decided not to take chances," ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said.

"It could be a moderate typhoon, but then when power outages and all that happen, what have we?" he said.

Eight of the 10 ASEAN foreign ministers, along with their counterparts from China and Japan, arrived before the postponement and managed to squeeze in a meeting late on Friday.

Yesterday some leaders met again at a sparsely attended breakfast get-together.

Their agenda included possible dates to try holding the two summits again.

"I assured them there will be no typhoon in January," Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo joked.

"Almost to a man, they all want to come back here in Cebu," he said.

Cebu, located in the central Philippines, had been the planned venue for the summits.

An official from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Jan. 8 to 13 was being proposed as the new dates.

Despite the postponement, China's Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (李肇星) and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso talked in Cebu, with further signs of warming ties.

Tokyo firmed up its invitation to China's top two leaders to visit Japan early next month.

Late on Friday evening, economic ministers signed six agreements on integrating their economies, but 20 other agreements will have to wait until the proceedings resume.

Also put on hold was a binding treaty on cross-border cooperation in fighting terrorism.

As the economic ministers met behind closed doors, dozens of aides and diplomats on mobile phones feverishly arranged for flights and other transport on short notice.

Philippine Trade Secretary Peter Favila pitched in to help by phoning Philippine Airlines to arrange diplomats' flights back to Manila.

Officials said they did not want to take a chance with the highly unpredictable weather.

Only a week has passed since Super Typhoon Durian -- the fourth typhoon to strike the Philippines in as many months -- left more than 1,000 people dead or missing and caused the evacuation of over 100,000 people.

A Foreign Affairs senior official said the decision to postpone had come after a flurry of consultations between Romulo, senior Philippine diplomats in Cebu and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Manila.

After considering options and consulting with other ministers, Arroyo made the final decision to postpone.

"It's better to postpone the summit rather than hold it in an atmosphere where there is destruction all around. It goes against the grain of the theme of ASEAN, which is `One caring and sharing community,'" Arroyo spokesman Ignacio Bunye told reporters.

That left those in Cebu trying to work out the logistics of getting people out early.

Maggie Garcia of the Shangri-la Mactan hotel, where officials were staying and meeting, said the hotel had brought in at least 50 culinary experts and trained butlers from around Asia to work during the summit, and had pre-ordered the meals for leaders.

"They're still in the freezers," she said.

"We can easily put them out in a buffet now for other guests," she said.

The Shangri-la has about 500 rooms, with about 85 percent reserved for ASEAN.

The hotel has not assessed whether it will incur a loss because of the postponement, she said.

The Philippines inherited the summits after military-ruled Myanmar decided to pass on its turn to host the annual ASEAN meeting.

Myanmar did not want to draw even more than the usual attention to its dismal human rights record and lack of progress in restoring democracy.

That passed the baton on to the Philippines, which had frantically rushed in order to finish a new convention center in Cebu a year earlier than planned to host the ASEAN summit.