PHILIPPINES: Heads of state arrive in Cebu, for ASEAN summit

More heads of states, including the host country president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, arrived in Cebu, Philippines, Friday (January 12) to kick off the12th ASEAN regional summit. Arroyo was welcomed by troupe of dancers wearing ethnic costumes that represented each of the 10 ASEAN member countries and six other guest participants, including China and Japan, as she arrived at the city's Convention Center. Fearing damage to its credibility, ASEAN nations on Thursday (January 11) declined to take an official position on a U.S.-move to escalate pressure on Myanmar at the United Nations. "We believe that the affairs of Myanmar should be decided by the Myanmar people," Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told Reuters. "And we don't agree with the proposal by the United States to put this issue to the United Nations Security Council," he added. Myanmar has been a thorn in the side of ASEAN for years over its failure to move on a "roadmap to democracy" and release political prisoners, including Nobel laureate Ann Sang Suu Kyi. Myanmar's foreign minister, Nyan Win, asked ASEAN members on Wednesday night to help block a U.S. draft resolution at the U.N., which says the political and human rights climate in Myanmar was a threat to regional peace. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- countries that span the economic and political spectrum. The summit officially opens on Saturday (January 13).

ITN Source | January 13, 2007

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