PHNO-HL: ASIA-PACIFIC LEADERS URGED TO BUILD BRIDGES, NOT WALLS

ASIA-PACIFIC LEADERS URGED TO BUILD BRIDGES, NOT
WALLS


[PHOTO -Leaders walk off after posing for a group photo on the
final day of the APEC summit in Vladivostok, Russia, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012. From
left to right are Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Chinese
President Hu Jintao, Singapore Prime]
VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 (INQUIRER) Asia-Pacific
leaders on Saturday called for unity in tackling a raft of economic challenges,
as the summit began here amid deep divisions over worsening territorial disputes
and other rows.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, host of the 20th Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (Apec) forum and leaders' summit, opened the two-day gathering with
a call for a renewed joint commitment to open up regional trade.
"By getting together and lifting barriers, we encourage dynamic development
of the entire Asia-Pacific region and the global economy in general. It is
important to build bridges, not walls," Putin told his fellow leaders.
The 21 members of Apec, which accounts for nearly half of world trade, meet
every year to build goodwill in their effort to break down trade barriers, with
the bloc's rules decided by consensus.

[PHOTO -Gallery View: Aquino in Russia for APEC Summit]
But this year's summit began with Apec giants China, Japan and South Korea
embroiled in various territorial disputes that have fanned intense nationalist
flames, and with US-China relations also heating up over the West Philippine
Sea.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said he would not hold customary
bilateral summit talks with China's President Hu Jintao nor South Korea's Lee
Myung-Bak because of Japan's separate territorial disputes with their nations.

Besides the Philippines, Apec member Vietnam has also spoken out strongly
against China in the lead-up to the summit.
The Philippines and Vietnam have accused China of a campaign of intimidation
to enforce its claims to virtually all of the West Philippine Sea, parts of
which they contest.
Speaking at a presummit business forum earlier Saturday, Hu called for all
countries to ensure the tensions did not escalate into more serious conflicts.

"To maintain peace and stability as well as sound momentum of economic growth
in the Asia Pacific is in the interest of all countries in the region. It is our
shared responsibility," Hu said, while also warning against protectionism.
Trade barriers

[PHOTO - CHINA'S PRESIDENT HU JINTAO during his keynote speech at APEC
2012 Summit in Russia]
Philippine economic officials went into the forum worried that more countries
would put up more barriers to trade as world economic growth cools down.
"There were statements during the ministerial discussions that there's
increasing protectionism," Philippine Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory
Domingo told a news conference on Saturday. "So the ministers said that this is
something that member states should really try to avoid doing."
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the Philippines and
other Apec members wanted to make sure their partners would not take a
protectionist stand in the wake of the euro crisis and the slowdown in big
economies like China.
"We are espousing the position that we need to solve the problems that are
facing our domestic economies in a way that we will not curtail the expansion of
trade," Balisacan said.
In a joint statement issued after their two-day meeting, the Apec trade
ministers said: "We noted with concern the International Monetary Fund's
downward projection for global growth for this and next year and the rise in
protectionist instances around the world. These developments increase the
urgency of further action to keep markets down."
US interests

[PHOTO - PUTIN AND CLINTON]
The United States has riled China by calling for a code of conduct for the
West Philippine Sea and insisting on freedom of navigation in the strategic
waterway. China has also perceived a greater US focus on Asia as an effort to
contain it.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, standing in for US President Barack
Obama, said Thursday on a presummit swing through the region that Washington was
not going to shy away from standing up for American strategic interests.
She emphasized at a business forum on the sidelines of the summit on Saturday
that the United States was determined to increase its economic and political
footprint in the region.
"After an extended period in which the United States had to focus a great
deal of attention and resources on regions and conflicts elsewhere, we are now
making substantially increased investments in the Asia Pacific," she said.
"We seek to work with others to build a stable and just regional order that
will benefit everyone," she said.
Apec leaders have insisted they will still make progress in Vladivostok in
opening up economies.
Leaders' statement
They will jointly call for greater efforts to "support growth and foster
financial stability and restore confidence," according to a draft of a leaders'
statement to be released at the end of the summit and obtained by AFP.
It warns of mounting risks to the region from eurozone crisis in Europe and
pledges to work to stoke domestic demand to counter falling exports.
The assembled leaders are also expected to approve a deal reached on Thursday
by their trade ministers to cut tariffs on a list of dozens of "green" products
in the Asia-Pacific region to boost trade in the goods and help protect the
environment. Reports from Gil Cabacungan and AFP





Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved




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