BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR

PRESIDENT Arroyo yesterday said the Philippines is capturing a moment of glory with its hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) and East Asian summits in Cebu.

Arroyo, accompanied by husband Jose Miguel Arroyo and daughter Lourdes Evangelina, arrived at the Mactan International Airport shortly before 11 a.m. for the 12th Asean summit.

She was welcomed by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

The annual summit which kicks off today in Cebu will be attended by the heads of government of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

It will be followed by a meeting among the participants and leaders of Asean partners Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Arroyo said the Asean and East Asian meetings are opportunities for the world to witness the "best of a sharing and caring community carving out a united response in addressing problems of poverty, terrorism, environmental degradation, trade and energy % marking a vibrant market and a new phase of trade and development across borders."

"This year, the Philippines captures a moment of glory as the hub and gateway of partnership and cooperation in Asean and the whole East Asian region, as we push forward in one heave of leadership to uplift the lives of the people and preserve their greater safety and security," she said.

The prime ministers of Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and the president of Indonesia arrived yesterday along with the leader of non-Asean member Timor Leste.

The heads of Brunei, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar arrived in Cebu Thursday.

The President attended the meeting of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) at the Shangri-la Mactan Island Resort around 2 p.m. followed by the unveiling of a commemorative marker at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) around 4:30 p.m.

She also opened an exhibit that features the sites in and products from the province.

Arroyo is scheduled to hold a meeting last night with Timor Leste Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta, during which they were expected to discuss the accession of the former Portuguese colony to the Asean.

TURN FOR THE BETTER

Senior diplomats from China, South Korea and Japan met in Cebu and agreed their relations had taken a decided turn for the better, highlighted by coordinated efforts to end North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

"Relations between the three countries are showing fresh impetus for development," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said.

"We should seize this favorable period to strive to develop a new outlook of cooperation between the three countries," he said after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon and the deputy foreign minister of Japan, Katsuhito Asano.

It was their first trilateral meeting since Shinzo Abe took over as Japan’s prime minister in September.

Japan had upset its neighbors under Abe’s predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, who made repeated visits to Tokyo’s Yasukuni war shrine, widely seen as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism.

Abe has worked hard over the past four months to repair ties with his neighbors and is charting a bolder diplomatic role for Japan, which since World War Two has traditionally kept a low security profile.

The three men, meeting ahead of their leaders’ summit with Asean leaders, represent three of the six countries taking part in talks over North Korea’s nuclear program.

South Korea’s Song said they had talked about how to move ahead in implementing an agreement reached in September 2004 that offered North Korea aid and security guarantees in exchange for Pyongyang scrapping its nuclear weapons programs.

It was a little early to disclose details of their discussions, Song said. Asked when the next six-party round would take place, he said: "the earlier, the better."

SPLITS OVER MYANMAR

The 10 Asean leaders begin their own two-day summit in Cebu amid apparent differences over how to respond to a US attempt to escalate pressure at the United Nations on Myanmar, formerly called Burma.

In line with a rule of non-interference in members’ domestic affairs, Asean has taken no stand on the US move, but amid embarrassment over Myanmar’s notoriety, leaders will consider junking that rule in talks about drafting a charter for the grouping later this year.

Proposals, endorsed by Asean foreign ministers, call for sanctions for serious breaches of commitments % such as Myanmar’s "roadmap" to democracy % but analysts doubt whether the grouping is yet ready for such a bold leap.

The grouping plans to bring forward the establishment of an economic community from 2020 to 2015, "transforming Asean into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment and capital," according to a draft declaration circulating at the meeting.

Asean leaders are scheduled to sign a counter-terrorism agreement, clamping down on the unregulated movement of militants and arms across Southeast Asia’s porous borders.

Security, trade and energy will dominate discussions when the Asean chiefs and the leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand meet on the resort island on Monday for their second East Asia Summit.

Security was tight in Cebu after three bombings on Wednesday night in three cities in Mindanao that killed eight people and wounded dozens.

Around 100 protesters gathered at Cebu port to demonstrate against the meeting and hundreds of unsolved political killings in the Philippines, which holds the Asean chairmanship.

ASEAN-JAPAN TIES

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo stressed the need to strengthen ties between the Asean and Japan in efforts to fight terrorism and ensure maritime security.

"Greater prosperity and progress can only be achieved for all the region’s stakeholders if we ensure the necessary conditions of peace and security. Asean and Japan’ agreement to expand counter-terrorism and maritime security are important moves in advancing our common security agenda." Romulo said at the Asean-Japan Ministerial Meeting in Cebu.

The Asean-Japan Counter Terrorism Dialogue was launched in June last year. The second counter-terrorism dialogue will be held in Malaysia this year.

Romulo said Philippines’ archipelagic makeup exposes it to dangers.

"Its (Philippines’) much traveled seas, straits and sea lanes expose us to numerous hazards. Cooperation to secure our sea lanes is rightly a major initiative," he said.

Romulo said capacity building, provision of modern equipment, ships and training programs are the major components of the Asean-Japan maritime security cooperation.

Romulo said Japan is "ready to expand its efforts in regional security cooperation."

This year, Asean and Japan are commemorating their 33 years of collaboration. In 2003, Asean and Japan signed the Declaration for the Dynamic and Enduring Asean-Japan Partnership in the New Millennium.

The Asean and Japan also agreed during the ministerial meeting to work closer together in the prevention of pandemics such as the avian flu virus, development cooperation, culture, human resources, and the development of small and medium enterprises.

16-POINT PLAN

Speaker Jose de Venecia will unveil today a 16-point plan to "advance the causes of Asean and Asia," including an anti-poverty Asian Micro-Finance Fund and a call on the leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea to "fully reconcile in order not to "endanger the momentum of Asean Plus Three."

De Venecia was invited by the Asean Standing Committee to address the Asean summit at 2 p.m. today.

At the meeting of more than 90 Asian political parties in Seoul last September, De Venecia initiated his proposal for a meeting in Cebu of Japanese Premier Senzo Abe, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to reconcile their remaining emotional differences over World War II and "follow Europe’s lead of full reconciliation that helped create the European Union." – With Czeriza Valencia and Reuters