Apec opens in shadows of global terrorism threat

20 Oct, 2001 11:54 PM6 mins to read

SHANGHAI - After an appeal by President Bush to join forces against "murderers with global reach," Pacific Rim leaders on Saturday opened the Apec summit in Shanghai overshadowed by terrorism.

Bush and the attacks on Afghanistan have become the focus of a summit China had intended to showcase its economic prowess, and to star President Jiang Zemin.

Standing alone on a small island of red carpet in a vast balconied atrium, Jiang greeted leaders arriving one by one for the weekend meeting of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum.

Bush has sought to convince wavering Asian countries to support the military campaign in Afghanistan, but he has faced resistance.

As United States ground forces joined the attacks for the first time, Bush heard concerns from Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad about civilian deaths.

"We had a very good visit," Bush said afterwards. "He is concerned about the death of innocent people in Afghanistan, and I assured him I am too."

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Russian and Chinese leaders, who met on Saturday, wanted an end to the military hostilities "as soon as possible" so a coalition government could be formed.

Predominantly Muslim Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as China, all have qualms about attacks on Afghanistan. Indonesia fears a domestic backlash as civilian casualties mount.

The summit will produce a watered-down declaration against terrorism containing no reference to Afghanistan or the Taleban government, which shelters Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect behind the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Black motorcades sped the leaders to the summit past the giant tripod legs of the Oriental Pearl Tower - a soaring shaft of concrete supporting red observation spheres - on their way to the marble-clad conference centre.

Outside, squads of paramilitary police in green uniforms sealed off the financial heart of China's model city. State media said all aircraft, including balloons and crop dusters, had been barred from airspace around the venue.

At a business executives meeting before the summit got underway, Bush called the war on terrorism the "urgent task of our time."

"Our enemies are murderers with global reach. They seek weapons to kill on a global scale. Every nation now must oppose this enemy, or be in turn its target," he said.

The September attacks on New York and Washington have been damaging for Asian economies, which rely on US export markets. Taiwan and Singapore are struggling with their worst recessions for decades.

Apec leaders have been trying hard to boost business confidence by talking up their faith in the future of a region that accounts for almost half of global trade and 60 percent of output.

Bush vowed that the United States "will do its part to restore economic momentum for the world."

"We'll keep our markets open, and our country open for business," he said. "The economic fundamentals in America are strong, and our nation will recover."

Bush heard news about the death of two US soldiers in a helicopter crash shortly before meeting Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The White House said he would return home a day early on Sunday, but insisted the change was for no urgent reason.

"The thing that's important for me to tell the American people is that these soldiers will not have died in vain," Bush told reporters during the meeting with Koizumi. "This is a just cause."

"I think the American people now fully understand that we are in an important struggle, a struggle that will take time and that there will be moments of sacrifice. We've seen two such examples today."

Koizumi told Bush Tokyo was ready to help reconstruction in Afghanistan when the attacks are over. Japan's scope for military assistance is limited by its constitution.

"Regaining political stability and rebuilding the economy in Afghanistan is a necessary process in the initiative to eradicate and prevent terrorism," Koizumi said. He said he told Bush "Japan is able to play a role in rebuilding Afghanistan."

Just hours before the summit opened, Taiwan's delegation stormed out of Apec in a row over the island's representation.

As they checked out of their hotel and sped off toward the airport, Taiwan delegates handed out a statement from President Chen Shui-bian expressing "profound disappointment and great rage" and calling on Apec members to condemn China.

But with terrorism on the minds of Apec leaders, the walkout went largely unnoticed.

Chen blamed China for failing to send an invitation to his hand-picked envoy former vice president Li Yuan-zu, who China has said is not acceptable since under Apec protocol the island is supposed to send an economics related official.

The summit is being staged in the International Convention Centre, a colonnaded building on the Shanghai waterfront flanked by a huge glass globe, with China highlighted in red. It is one of dozens of glittering buildings that have sprouted during a frenzy of construction in the past few years.

China had hoped the soaring Shanghai skyline would provide the perfect backdrop for discussions on trade liberalisation and technical cooperation at the Apec summit.

But these topics, the staples of Apec gatherings, have dropped down the agenda.

Jiang, who is seeking a place in the pantheon of Chinese socialism along with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, gave a rare display of his English-language skills in welcoming remarks to the summit.

"Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the business community, welcome to Shanghai, China," said Jiang, who also speaks Russian and a smattering of Spanish.

Under Jiang, China has sought to portray itself as an open and outward looking society, particularly over the past year as part of its successful campaign to host the 2008 Olympics.

Shanghai streets were eerily empty on Saturday.

Gone were the swarms of smartly suited office workers, hordes of out-of-town tourists and the hustle of street vendors. Honking cars that normally clog the tunnel linking the west half of the city to the eastern financial district have vanished.

In their place, some 10,000 stern-faced policemen and security guards threw a cordon around every major building. Bus routes have been cut back, roads blocked, some subway stations closed, and citizens given a holiday as China clamps down on any possible security threat.

In the run-up to the meetings, China denied visas to visitors from a host of Middle East countries. State television said China had stepped up checks for potentially deadly anthrax bacteria in mail rooms and at border crossings after a rash of cases in the United States.

Apec groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam.

- REUTERS

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