14Th ASEAN Summit with Dialogue Partners Postponed (11/4/2009)

14th ASEAN Summit with Dialogue Partners Postponed (11/4/2009) Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has decided to postpone the ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the ASEAN Plus Six Summit to a later date due to massive demonstrations led by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). The meetings began at the Royal Cliff Beach Hotel in Pattaya, Chon Buri, on April 10 and were due to end on April 12. The Prime Minister on April 11 cancelled them, after UDD had caused disturbances and disorder in its protests against the Thai government. Mr. Tharit Charungvat, Director-General of the Department of Information and Foreign Ministry Spokesman, said that Prime Minister Abhisit convened a meeting with ASEAN leaders already present at the meeting venue. He also made telephone calls to ASEAN dialogue partners, who had come for the summits, to inform them of the decision to postpone the meeting. The Prime Minister expressed his apology for the inconvenience caused, saying that Thailand would coordinate with them regarding the new schedule of meetings. At the summits, 10 ASEAN countries had expected to hold talks with six dialogue partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand. All ASEAN and dialogue partners expressed their understanding and hoped that the Royal Thai Government would be able to find an early resolution to the situation. They also reaffirmed their readiness to cooperate toward the reconvening of the summits on a date which would be set later. In the meantime, the Government decided to impose a state of emergency in Pattaya and other areas in Chon Buri on April 11. The state of emergency was also lifted on the same day, after normalcy returned. The Prime Minister said that his decision was based on the maximum benefit of the country and that he would do every thing possible to bring about peace and order. Meanwhile, a statement was issued by the ASEAN Secretariat, saying that due to the unfortunate turn of events in Pattaya, the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits would be postponed. The postponement of the summits came at a time when the world was looking towards ASEAN and East Asia to contribute to solutions to the ongoing financial and economic crisis. The leaders were expected to discuss plans to cope with the crisis following the G20 Summit in London on 2-3 April 2009. Leaders from ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea were also expected to convene in Pattaya to discuss ways and joint responses to boost the regional economies, as well as to encourage the early conclusion of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilaterization (CMIM) by their finance ministers, which has been enlarged to 120 billion US dollars, following the 13th ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting in Pattaya. The postponement also delayed the signing of the ASEAN-China Investment Agreement as well as discussions on other pressing issues that the world is facd with now, such as food and energy security and disaster management. Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, appealed for a peaceful end to the protests. "It is in the interest of all 570 million people in ASEAN that leaders of ASEAN and East Asia are able to come together to discuss and synergize efforts to cope with the many challenges that the world is grappling with now. Many people are affected by these challenges, and it is imperative that we do not let these efforts be derailed at the expense of the people. I would like to appeal for a peaceful end to the protests at the earliest time possible. The ASEAN Global Dialogue, scheduled for April 12 at the Centara Grand Hotel, CentralWorld, in Bangkok, was also canceled. 1/10/2021 Page 1 กรมประชาสัมพันธ์.

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