By: BangkokPost.com
The government has postponed the Asean+6 summit from next month until October because some leaders are not available to attend the proposed resumption of the 14th summit in Phuket in June.
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said on Wednesday the delay was not linked to Thailand's failure to control red-shirt protesters, who stormed the summit venue last month in Pattaya and forced the regional meeting's cancellation.
The proposed date for the summit's resumption in Phuket, June 13 and 14, did not fit the schedules of some leaders, including Indonesia, India and New Zealand.
"Some countries are holding elections, others have already scheduled official visits," he said.
Security concerns were not the reason for the postponement, he insisted.
The East Asian Summit meeting of senior officials on Tuesday would further discuss the date for the resumed biennial meeting, he said.
"There are two possibilitiesfor the rescheduled summit -- around the end of July, which is not that convenient, and in October, which is around the time for organising the 15th Asean summit," Mr Kasit said.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asean Nations (Asean) organises a summit every two years.
The 14th Asean summit was originally scheduled in Chiang Mai last year, but postponed because of the political turmoil in Thailand.
The forum finally began Hua Hin from Feb 28 to March 1. The second stage was scheduled for Pattaya last month but collapsed in chaos as red-shirt protesters breached weak security and invaded the venue. Foreign leaders were evacuated by helicopter and boat and martial law declared.
"Many countries agree that it should be held in October, but the final decision would not be made until agreement is reached on Tuesday," Mr Kasit said.
Although the summit cannot be held next month, accords such as the economic agreement between Asean and China and Asean and Australia could still be signed before October, he said.
Source: Bangkok Post
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