Noy off to US for summit

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino will leave for the United States tomorrow to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-US summit, the first meeting of ASEAN and the US as strategic partners.

Aquino has noted the dignified treatment Philippine delegates are receiving abroad and the improved credit ratings and support from the international community.

The ASEAN-US summit in Sunnylands, California will be attended by President Barack Obama, who proposed the meeting during the third ASEAN-US summit in Kuala Lumpur in November.

Obama’s proposal came after the leaders decided to elevate the ASEAN-US dialogue to strategic partner level.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario will join Aquino in the ASEAN-US summit.

Del Rosario said the summit agenda would focus on maritime security, economic integration as well as transnational concerns and strategic partnership with the US.

Maria Hellen Barber-de la Vega of the Office of ASEAN Affairs said the meeting will focus on how ASEAN and the US could work more effectively together, especially with the establishment of the ASEAN community.

The South China Sea dispute and North Korea’s rocket launch will be discussed in the summit as well as maritime security, transnational challenges and other political issues like countering violent extremism.

De la Vega said economic issues will focus on how the US could support ASEAN integration.

After the summit, Aquino will meet with the Filipino community and businessmen, and receive an honorary degree at the Loyola Marymount University.

This will likely be Aquino’s last foreign trip as President as the campaign season and the elections will keep him busy.

Aquino said when he was just starting to attend international events abroad, he felt that other heads of state or government leaders were just compelled to deal with him.

“That was before. Now, one of the heads of state who found it difficult to talk to me has asked me what’s the Philippines’ secret for having a 6.6 percent economic growth.

“Well, we just followed your example,” was Aquino’s reply to that leader, whose economy was growing by 1.4 percent.

He said in jest that he did not want to share it as the Philippines was just catching up and its strategy should not be copied.

“He did not ask for details anymore. Our GDP (gross domestic product) is still higher than theirs,” he said.

He said another head of state who seemed to look down on him had invited him to visit their country on their second meeting.

Obama to push for trade agenda

The summit between Southeast Asian leaders and Obama is unlikely to deliver any big economic prizes, but will allow the American side to press the advantages of joining a Pacific trade pact that doesn’t include China.

The meetings at Rancho Mirage in California set for Monday and Tuesday will be the first summit of its kind for the 10-member ASEAN on US soil.

Its special nature is intended to show the Obama administration’s commitment to countering growing Chinese influence in a region that is home to 620 million people and a $2.6 trillion economy.

Southeast Asian nations have benefited from increased trade and investment stemming from their giant neighbor’s economic rise, but many are wary of China achieving overweening influence.

The US, meanwhile, has an interest in maintaining freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, a crucial global trade route.

The summit is meant to send a signal that the US values ASEAN, said US deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes.

“We are going to be engaged in Southeast Asia, in working with the nations of the Asia Pacific to clear rules of the road on the various issues of common interest that we share with them,” Rhodes said.

The Southeast Asian nations of Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam are already part of the US-led Trans Pacific Partnership trade pact that is awaiting ratification by national parliaments. – With Pia Lee-Brago, AP