It’s a week for summit diplomacy in Asia, with leaders’ meetings both in the Philippines, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit from November 18-19 and then in Malaysia for the ASEAN and East Asia Summits.
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Shortly after Air Force One touched down in Manila, Obama boarded the Gregorio del Pilar, a Philippines navy frigate that was a U.S. Coast Guard cutter until 2011 but on Tuesday flew the flags of the two allies.
The USA earlier transferred two Hamilton-class cutters to the Philippine Navy – the Gregorio del Pilar and the BRP Ramon Alcaraz – which are now the country’s main warships patrolling its waters.
Flanked by US and Philippine troops, Obama said he would seek to provide another $140 million in maritime security aid to Southeast Asia next year, although it was unclear whether Congress would approve those funds.
The compact is part of a broader effort to strengthen US presence – and counter China – in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
Market uncertainty, protectionist pressures and the need for hard reform as trade growth slows will nevertheless be on the minds of close to 20 leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Manila.
Most heads of the 21 APEC members, except for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, have promised to attend the summit, despite the latest terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday, which claimed 129 lives and more than 350 people injured.
Obama may have the chance to raise the issue with President Xi Jinping, who also arrived Tuesday at APEC.
While there is no dispute between Manila and Washington that China’s activities in the South China Sea are provocative, Beijing took a different approach Tuesday. The USA showed solidarity with the Philippines by conducting military manoeuvrs recently near islands where China has reclaimed land and built settlements to shore up its claims. While we are pleased that the Philippines is hosting the APEC, and look forward to the outcomes of the talks, we can not help but think the sacrifices imposed on the Filipino people are not worth it.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have competing claims to parts of the sea, which is also believed to sit atop vast oil and gas resources.
It will be a chance for leaders of the 12-member Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to meet for the first time since they sealed a deal to eliminate trade barriers and enable free trade.
The survey also said the US-led TPP trade pact, when completed, will add about $223 billion and the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) about $644 billion. The Philippines has vowed to tighten security, and has closed major streets and declared the next two days public holidays to ensure a safe and efficient summit.
PROVIDING security for the leaders of Asia-Pacific nations, including the United States, China and Japan, is a huge undertaking for any country.
Malaysian officials said although trade ministers did not discuss the Paris attacks at their meeting on Monday, each minister spoke on the attacks and they observed a minute’s silence.
Xi is expected to explain China’s vision on Asia-Pacific cooperation and discuss the implementation of the outcomes of the APEC meeting in Beijing previous year.
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“This will be a significant contribution for our maritime security capability”, Philippine defence department spokesman Peter Galvez told AFP.
