Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo will skip next week’s Apec leaders’ meeting in Manila, as will Russia’s Mr Vladimir Putin.
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“This is an incorrect estimation which shows lack of understanding of the essence of Russian policy in the Asia-Pacific region, ‘ the spokesman said”.
The summit in Manila is expected to be attended by Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe among representatives from its 21 member economies.
However, the US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the APEC gathering is for economic matters, but the South China Sea can also come up on the sidelines of the summit if it was not on the agenda itself.
Wang’s trip to Manila was to compare notes on and make preparations for Xi’s planned visit to the Philippines for the APEC meet.
In the last APEC meeting, many participants endorsed the FTA idea, which is also seen by many as a counter to the TPP led by Washington, which covers the region’s top economies, barring China.
Citing the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and East Asia Summit as examples, Liu said meetings that focus on multilateral economic cooperation are not the platform to discuss bilateral disputes.
NCRPO spokesperson Chief Inspector Kim Molitas said officers have been issued the necessary equipment and provisions for the duration of the APEC Summit. Organizers say the fewer people out in the streets during the leaders summit, the easier for them to secure the participants particularly the heads of governments of the 21-member organization.
Quoting the White House, the Japanese news agency Jiji Press on Friday, November 13, reported that Obama and 11 other world leaders, who all signed the ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), “will hold a meeting in Manila on Wednesday”.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday said that China attaches great importance to its relations with the Philippines and is ready to work with the country to create normal, stable, healthy and friendly bilateral relationship.
Asked if other leaders can raise the thorny issue, Jose said they can.
Meanwhile, Marciano Paynor Jr., director general of the National Organizing Committee of APEC Philippines 2015, said there will be no bilateral meeting scheduled between the Philippines and China.
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“Local media will probably hype up the South China Sea issues during the meeting; non-governmental groups might lodge protests over not referring to the issue”, Liu added.
