Apec urges united fight against terror

In a joint declaration to wrap up the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the 21 leaders again backed a strategic study of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), the goal they set in 2014 at their meeting in Beijing.

The statement also mentioned the November 12 twin suicide bombings in Beirut, in which 43 were killed, and the downing of a Russian commercial aircraft by a bomb over Sinai on October 31, killing all 224 people onboard.

“We strongly condemn all acts, methods, and practices of terrorism in all their forms and manifestations”, the APEC end-of-summit statement said.

Police are using water cannons and canes to try and disperse the increasingly rowdy protest.

Earlier about 100 students clashed with police at a public square, with the two sides pushing and shoving and police beating protesters with their batons after the students crossed over a security barricade.

Thousands of Filipinos gathered in Manila on Thursday (Nov. 18) in protest of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) free-trade agenda, which protesters claim favors protection of large corporations over the rights of poor, working-class citizens.

According to presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma, Aquino said: “Welcome, President Xi!”

However, in the run-up to this year’s APEC meeting, the United States has been acting otherwise. He then gestured for Xi to join the other leaders.

Hence, the US ought to know that it can not succeed in its designs by pressuring China and muscling through its own agenda at the APEC meeting.

APEC host Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has urged the group to work on promoting prosperity and ending poverty for all in the region. A seal, a rat, a cow, and an elephant were also inside the jeepney, holding placards in various languages and waving to people on the streets.

“We will not allow them to approach the APEC venue”, a policeman next to the protesters told Sputnik.

Protesters jostled with police and burnt a mock US flag.

ANGER IN BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping has so far studiously avoided bringing up the dispute at the talks in Manila.

While the SDGs remain a focal point in the development discussions of the predominantly economic summit, the issue of climate change – as highlighted by U.S. President Barack Obama, also present at the summit – also took center stage. Washington, in tandem with a few USA media outlets, has been pressuring the meeting organizers to put the South China Sea disputes in a spotlight, disregarding Manila’s repeated promises to exclude them from the meeting. He did not name China but was referring to Beijing’s recent land reclamation and the construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea.

The declaration came a day after TPP signatories met in the Philippine capital on Apec’s sidelines. He’s calling for “bold steps” to lower tensions.

“We do want the East Asian summit to address maritime security issues”, Asia policy adviser Daniel Kritenbrink said.

Turnbull has pledged diplomatic support for the U.S. position on the South China Sea, but has declined to specify what practical actions Australia might take in support of future American-led freedom of navigation exercises in the region.

Huge chunks of Manila have been cut off from traffic with more than 20,000 police and soldiers deployed to protect leaders, causing traffic chaos in a metropolis already renowned for its mammoth tailbacks. Gonzales says “the mother and baby boy are doing well and are about to be discharged”.