Apec aims to free blocked trade deal, clip bird flu

PUSAN, South Korea - Leaders of 21 economies from around the Pacific Rim gather in South Korea this week to throw their weight behind faltering free trade talks and join forces to deal with the threats of avian flu and terrorism.

A series of bilateral talks between foreign ministers today ahead of the weekend summit drove home how far the 16-year-old Asia-Pacific Economic Forum has come from an economic talking-shop to a forum for global issues of the day.

Many were watching to see how Japan would be received in the group, which includes victims of its World War Two aggression. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has angered many in the region by his visits, the latest as recently as last month, to a war shrine that some say glorifies Japan's militaristic past.

Japan's new foreign minister, Taro Aso, discussed the burdens of history on Monday in talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon that a government official from the South called "very informal but serious." Foreign minister for just two weeks, Aso told reporters after the hour-long meeting: "He (Ban) explained himself very clearly. He seems like a person in whom I can place my trust." The Apec meeting opened officially in Pusan -- a port city about 420 km southeast of the capital, Seoul -- at the weekend and brings foreign and trade ministers together in the middle of the week. But the highlight is the summit.

US President George W Bush, coming to the meeting as part of an Asian trip that will take in China, Mongolia and Japan, will want to keep his war on terror high on the agenda, analysts said.

It was Bush who put terrorism squarely on Apec's plate at the 2001 summit in Shanghai soon after the September 11 attacks, altering the nature of the forum, perhaps forever.

"It (the meeting) has ... taken on a much more political slant in recent years since September 11. It has become a much more mature forum," said Ralph Cossa, head of the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum CSIS think-tank.

Bomb attacks on the island of Bali and other parts of Indonesia have kept terrorism on the agenda since.

Although not on the official agenda, the status of international efforts to end the nuclear programme of South Korea's neighbour to the north -- and what that means for the region's stability -- will overshadow all.

And this being South Korea, where demonstrating is almost an art form, the forum will not take place without its detractors.

As many as 20,000 protesters carrying placards saying "No Bush visit" joined a labour union-organised protest against the summit in Seoul on Sunday, and South Korean rice farmers have pledged to hold rallies against freeing up farm trade.

Anti-globalisation groups and activists plan to bring 100,000 people together in Pusan this weekend, South Korean media reported.

Tens of thousands of police will be on duty. Defences include anti-aircraft missile batteries, a three-tiered naval blockade, a team to battle chemical warfare assaults, as well as police and soldiers highly skilled in the Korean martial art of Taekwondo.

One big priority for the leaders and ministers will be to avert a breakdown of the Doha free trade round, which could inject new zest into world economic growth.

Trading powers are hoping to agree at a meeting in Hong Kong next month on a blueprint for the round, opening the way for a final accord at the end of 2006. But the prospect of failure at Hong Kong is now looming because of the European Union's reluctance to open its long-protected farm markets.

"People are worried about Hong Kong, and we see Apec as a vehicle to send a strong political message ... to ensure there will be progress in Hong Kong," Alan Bowman, chairman of Apec's Committee on Trade and Investment, told reporters.

Apec's economies account for 57 per cent of world gross domestic product, 45.8 per cent of world trade volume and 44.8 per cent of the world's population, organisers say, weight the forum hopes it can use to keep the round on track.

But some analysts say the key to progress in the round rests with the EU, which will not be at the Apec talks.

"Regional trade development has moved beyond Apec's orbit and it is time for Apec to stop pretending," Allan Gyngell and Malcolm Cook wrote in a paper for Australia's Lowy Institute.

The Apec leaders will also discuss how to work together if bird flu becomes a human pandemic with the potential to kill millions.

They will pledge to share information on bird flu as well as data on outbreaks in migratory birds, according to a draft of the leaders' bird flu initiative obtained by Reuters.

Forum officials said funding from the United States and Australia of about US$2 million ($2.94 million) for projects to mitigate the economic impact of a pandemic would be announced at the summit.

"We need to consider how a pandemic could impede economic growth," Mario Ignacio Artaza, chairman of Apec's Budget and Management Committee, told reporters. "It's a priority issue for our leaders when they meet."

- REUTERS