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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANILA 004855 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2011 
TAGS: PREL ECIN PTER ASEAN XE RU CH JA KN KS RP
SUBJECT: PHILIPPINE PLANS FOR ASEAN SUMMITS IN CEBU 
 
REF: A. MANILA 4854 
     ¶B. STATE 190890 
 
Classified By: Pol/C Scott Bellard, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary.  The Philippines plans to make a new 
counterterrorism convention and recommendations on an ASEAN 
Charter the highlights of the December 11 ASEAN Summit.  The 
subsequent ASEAN   3 Summit and East Asia Summit will 
probably break no new ground and will not include new 
participants, although expected accessions by France and East 
Timor to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation will enable 
those countries to take part in EAS in 2007.  All three 
summits will likely include a reiteration of the earlier 
ASEAN call for North Korea to return to the Six Party Talks 
(unless these have resumed by then) and a measured call for a 
breakthrough in the Doha Round.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  In a meeting on November 30, Department of Foreign 
Affairs Director General for ASEAN Luis Cruz and Deputy 
Director General Benito B. Valeriano described Philippine 
expectations for the December 11 ASEAN Summit, the December 
12 ASEAN   1 Summits (three) and an ASEAN   3 Summit, and the 
December 13 East Asia Summit, all of which will take place in 
the central Visayan city of Cebu.  (The U.S. has a consular 
agent in Cebu, but closed its consulate a decade ago.  Pol/C 
and poloff will be present in Cebu during the meetings, and 
DFA has promised to invite them to as many social functions 
as appropriate, as well as to provide substantive updates on 
the internal discussions as feasible.)  With planning and 
senior officials' meetings already taking place, most of 
DFA's ASEAN staff will be in Cebu no later than December 4. 
 
ASEAN SUMMIT 
------------ 
 
¶3.  (C)  The theme of this year's ASEAN Summit will be 
"building a community of caring societies," one of the four 
"strategic thrusts" of the socio-cultural community pillar 
for which the Philippines assumed responsibility under the 
Bali Concord II in October 2003.  (The other two pillars are 
the political-security community and the economic community.) 
 President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo nonetheless plans to make 
counterterrorism a key theme of this session, Cruz explained, 
noting that this topic cuts across all three major pillars. 
He emphasized that this issue is "at the top of President 
Arroyo's list."  Discussions continue among senior officials 
on the language of a proposed Convention on Counterterrorism 
-- focused mostly on increasing capacity building, training, 
information exchanges, and networking -- which the 
Philippines hopes can be adopted at this Summit.  At the very 
least, the Philippines expects a Declaration on 
Counterterrorism should the formal language of the Convention 
be impossible to agree upon in the next two weeks, Cruz 
added.  He nonetheless expressed "high hopes" for the 
Convention during this Summit, pointing to the already robust 
CT cooperation in the region and the existing national CT 
legislation in most ASEAN countries (although not yet the 
Philippines). 
 
¶4.  (C)  Also under the rubric of "building a community of 
caring societies," the Philippines is looking for: 
--  a "Cebu declaration" confirming this goal, which also 
will explicitly reflect support for the Millennium 
Development Goals; 
--  acceleration of community building targets to bridge the 
development gap within ASEAN; and, 
--  heightened awareness of HIV/AIDS and calls for additional 
funding. 
 
¶5.  (C)  The second "strategic thrust" of the socio-cultural 
pillar is to manage the social impact of economic 
integration, which DG Cruz confirmed ASEAN now wants to 
achieve by 2015 rather than by the initially envisioned 2020 
goal, including by: 
--  promoting welfare and protection of migrant workers; 
--  encouraging freer movement of specialized labor, notably 
(Philippine) nurses but perhaps eventually broadening to 
include other professions such as accounting and 
architecture; 
--  urging resumption of Doha development round (as per ref 
a, DG Cruz separately confirmed that the Summit would seek a 
 
MANILA 00004855  002 OF 003 
 
 
balanced statement along the lines of the APEC Leaders' 
statement) as well as conclusion of other free trade 
agreements.  Cruz noted that WTO chief Pascal Lamy, as well 
as the President of the Asian Development Bank, will have a 
working dinner with ASEAN Economic Ministers to discuss trade 
issues, while the 30-person ASEAN Business Advisory Council 
(three from each member) will meet separately with the ASEAN 
leaders; and, 
--  seeking greater energy security, including by increased 
use of biofuels, which DG Cruz underscored has the additional 
developmental advantage of promoting agriculture. 
DG Cruz also emphasized that greater economic integration and 
CT efforts would have a positive impact on the situation in 
the Philippines' Muslim Mindanao, and expressed appreciation 
for the assistance provided by many ASEAN partners, including 
the U.S. 
 
¶6.  (C)  To highlight the third socio-cultural goal of 
enhancing environmental sustainability, the leaders will note 
with approval a "Cebu resolution" agreed upon by ASEAN 
environmental ministers, which calls for strengthened 
environmental laws, mitigation measures on the impact of 
climate change -- notably the haze/fire problem in the region 
-- and support for the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, located 
in Los Banos, the Philippines.  The Philippines is also 
seeking closer cooperation on illegal trade in wildlife, 
illegal logging, and coordinated responses to natural 
disasters.  DG Cruz noted with appreciation Singapore's and 
Malaysia's assistance, along with that of the U.S., in 
response to the Leyte landslide earlier this year in the 
Philippines.  He added that the ASEAN members were 
increasingly also seeking better cooperation regarding their 
nationals in conflict situations, noting that during the 2006 
fighting in Lebanon, Philippine nationals fleeing to Syria, 
where the Philippines does not have an Embassy, were able to 
rely on the Indonesian Embassy for help, as others had during 
the Gulf War, when Filipinos sought assistance at the 
Indonesian Embassy in Yemen. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  The ASEAN leaders will also receive a report from 
the Eminent Persons Group with recommendations for an ASEAN 
Charter as part of its final socio-cultural goal of promoting 
an ASEAN identity.  They will appoint a drafting group, with 
an expectation of a draft for approval at the ASEAN Summit in 
Singapore in December 2007, according to Cruz. 
 
ASEAN    Summits 
----------------- 
 
¶8.  (C)  DDG Valeriano predicted very little new substance to 
the ASEAN   China, ASEAN   Japan, ASEAN   South Korea, and 
ASEAN   3 Summits, although he said that each would likely 
touch upon the issue of North Korea and reiterate support for 
the Six Party Talks, along the lines of statements the 
Philippines has already issued on behalf of ASEAN.  If a new 
round of talks has not begun by these meetings on December 
12, the leaders may again offer Cebu or the Philippines as a 
venue for talks, Valeriano added.  The leaders will also 
review current assistance projects, including technical 
training and education, according to Valeriano. 
 
East Asia Summit 
---------------- 
 
¶9.  (C)  DG Cruz noted that the Foreign Ministers of France 
and Timor Leste will sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation 
at the ASEAN Summit, which will make these countries eligible 
to participate in the 2007 East Asia Summit but not at the 
December 13 session.  As in the initial EAS last year, 
participants will include the leaders from ASEAN members, 
China, South Korea, Japan, India, New Zealand, and Australia. 
 Despite earlier expectations that Russia would have acceded 
to the TAC in time for President Putin to attend this Summit, 
Russia has "not been too active" and has been "slow with 
initiatives," according to Cruz, and its eventual 
participation is no longer as certain. 
 
¶10.  (C)  DDG Valeriano predicted that the key themes of a 
EAS statement will focus on counterterrorism, North Korea, 
protection of migrant workers, and energy security, without 
any surprises.  The meeting should last only a few hours, he 
noted. 
 
MANILA 00004855  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm 
KENNEY