Security forces are on full alert in Manila as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting was set to kick off on Wednesday (November 18).
Regional tensions over the South China Sea and security concerns after the attack by Islamist militants on Paris could eclipse efforts by Pacific-Rim leaders this week to boost trade and growth across a region of around 3 billion people.
Philippine officials have said there has been no intelligence suggesting a major threat to the Manila summit, which will be attended by leaders and representatives from the APEC’s 21 member nations, including U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Philippine navy and coast guard vessels continued to patrol maritime exclusion zones around meeting venues amid heavy rain.
Around 30,000 soldiers and police have been deployed in the Philippine capital to protect the leaders.
Philippine authorities have closed several roads and highway lanes for the exclusive use of delegates’ vehicles to allow leaders to get to the meeting venues smoothly.
Manila residents have complained of the disruption to their lives as the already-bad traffic in the city of 12 million ground to a screeching halt on the days leading up to the summit.
The Philippine government declared a two-day holiday November 18-19, and encouraged people to stay home.
Nearly 1,400 domestic and international flights scheduled during the summit week have been cancelled, and schools and public offices have been closed. (Reuters)
