APEC Summit – Day 1 Highlights
As day one of the APEC summit being held in Manila, the capital of the Philippines wraps up we take a look at some of the highlights of the first day:
South China Sea – Even though the arguments over rights to territory are not on the agenda it was still the hot topic being discussed. Japan voiced objections, claiming recent Chinese reclamation moves and aggression are violations of international law, threaten free navigation and flight in the region. China fought back with Foreign Minister spokesman, Hong Lei in Beijing (President Xi Jinping refused to discuss the territorial disputes) expressing China is ‘dissatisfied with the remarks and actions of the Japanese side’, the same language was used when Beijing was ‘dissatisfied’ at the end of last month with US military drills in the area . President of the United States, Barack Obama and his Philippine counterpart, Benigno Aquino III will meet later to discuss the effect of Chinese reclamation efforts and halting further construction in a bid by the US to lower tensions in the region.
Digital World – Jack Ma, founder of online retail giant Alibaba stated that issues the world faces ‘can be solved online’, most pertinent on top of his agenda would be poverty, climate change and disease. Mr. Ma drawing inspiration from a hollywood blockbuster, he explains ‘”You should always have hope, try to make sure that it’s not only in the movies you see Mission Impossible. In the real life you have to make mission possible.”
Paris Attacks – Similarly to the G20 summit held over the weekend in Turkey, the terrorist attacks on Paris on 13th November have overshadowed the gathering of world leaders. The question of how to combat the Islamic State extremist group has continued to be the focus of discussions as President Barack Obama met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the need to ramp up pressure on the Islamic State. Mr. Turnbull declaring his intentions on tackling security issues in the Middle East, “We will continue, shoulder to shoulder, with the U.S. and our allies in the fight against this type of extremist violence, this type of terrorism,” he said.
Climate Change – Chinese President Xi Jinping acknowledged that China is facing ‘difficulties and challenges’ but reassured those in attendance that its economy will continue to grow and even with it’s current slowdown is growing at a faster rate than Western Countries which will lead to improved living standards for it’s citizens. “China’s positive economic fundamentals and long term trajectory remain unchanged,” he said. “China’s economy has strong resilience, great potential and ample room for manoeuvring.”
In order to provide a better quality of life to Chinese citizens the issue of climate change will be tackled by Beijing, “We will make ecological progress part and parcel of the entire process of our economic and social development,” Xi said.
President Barack Obama put the onus on CEO’s, “Your businesses can do right by your bottom lines and by our planet and future generations,” Obama said. “The old rules that said we can’t grow our economy and protect our economy at the same time – those are outdated.”
Manila Residents Cry Foul– Social media exploded with residents of the city complaining a fake image of the country is once again during a high profile event presented to the world. Homeless people were removed or re-located temporarily and the streets specially cleaned up in time for the world leaders visit. Infrastructural issues being masked and causing consternation with special rights being provided to delegates and government officials to access lanes exclusively on the already clogged and congested highways.
Philippines Presidential spokesman, Sonny Coloma, in his quest to defend the significance of the APEC summit, asked Filipinos in the spirit of ‘bayanihan’ (spirit of communal unity) and the long term national interests of the nation to sacrifice and endure the traffic and other issues as a result of them fulfilling their international responsibilities in hosting the summit.
To cope with such traffic during the summit, two days of holidays were declared for schools and those employed within the capital and special lanes introduced to be used by delegates and heads of state. The ensuing grid lock has resulted in horror stories already with many having to walk in order to get around in the tropical heat.
As day one of the APEC summit being held in Manila, the capital of the Philippines wraps up we take a look at some of the highlights of the first day: South China Sea - Even though the arguments over rights to territory are not on the agenda it was still the hot topic being discussed. Japan voiced objections, claiming recent Chinese reclamation moves and aggression are violations of international law, threaten free navigation and flight in the region. China fought back with Foreign Minister spokesman, Hong Lei in Beijing (President Xi Jinping refused to discuss the territorial disputes) expressing China...
As day one of the APEC summit being held in Manila, the capital of the Philippines wraps up we take a look at some of the highlights of the first day:
South China Sea – Even though the arguments over rights to territory are not on the agenda it was still the hot topic being discussed. Japan voiced objections, claiming recent Chinese reclamation moves and aggression are violations of international law, threaten free navigation and flight in the region. China fought back with Foreign Minister spokesman, Hong Lei in Beijing (President Xi Jinping refused to discuss the territorial disputes) expressing China is ‘dissatisfied with the remarks and actions of the Japanese side’, the same language was used when Beijing was ‘dissatisfied’ at the end of last month with US military drills in the area . President of the United States, Barack Obama and his Philippine counterpart, Benigno Aquino III will meet later to discuss the effect of Chinese reclamation efforts and halting further construction in a bid by the US to lower tensions in the region.
Digital World – Jack Ma, founder of online retail giant Alibaba stated that issues the world faces ‘can be solved online’, most pertinent on top of his agenda would be poverty, climate change and disease. Mr. Ma drawing inspiration from a hollywood blockbuster, he explains ‘”You should always have hope, try to make sure that it’s not only in the movies you see Mission Impossible. In the real life you have to make mission possible.”
Paris Attacks – Similarly to the G20 summit held over the weekend in Turkey, the terrorist attacks on Paris on 13th November have overshadowed the gathering of world leaders. The question of how to combat the Islamic State extremist group has continued to be the focus of discussions as President Barack Obama met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the need to ramp up pressure on the Islamic State. Mr. Turnbull declaring his intentions on tackling security issues in the Middle East, “We will continue, shoulder to shoulder, with the U.S. and our allies in the fight against this type of extremist violence, this type of terrorism,” he said.
Climate Change – Chinese President Xi Jinping acknowledged that China is facing ‘difficulties and challenges’ but reassured those in attendance that its economy will continue to grow and even with it’s current slowdown is growing at a faster rate than Western Countries which will lead to improved living standards for it’s citizens. “China’s positive economic fundamentals and long term trajectory remain unchanged,” he said. “China’s economy has strong resilience, great potential and ample room for manoeuvring.”
In order to provide a better quality of life to Chinese citizens the issue of climate change will be tackled by Beijing, “We will make ecological progress part and parcel of the entire process of our economic and social development,” Xi said.
President Barack Obama put the onus on CEO’s, “Your businesses can do right by your bottom lines and by our planet and future generations,” Obama said. “The old rules that said we can’t grow our economy and protect our economy at the same time – those are outdated.”
Manila Residents Cry Foul– Social media exploded with residents of the city complaining a fake image of the country is once again during a high profile event presented to the world. Homeless people were removed or re-located temporarily and the streets specially cleaned up in time for the world leaders visit. Infrastructural issues being masked and causing consternation with special rights being provided to delegates and government officials to access lanes exclusively on the already clogged and congested highways.
Philippines Presidential spokesman, Sonny Coloma, in his quest to defend the significance of the APEC summit, asked Filipinos in the spirit of ‘bayanihan’ (spirit of communal unity) and the long term national interests of the nation to sacrifice and endure the traffic and other issues as a result of them fulfilling their international responsibilities in hosting the summit.
To cope with such traffic during the summit, two days of holidays were declared for schools and those employed within the capital and special lanes introduced to be used by delegates and heads of state. The ensuing grid lock has resulted in horror stories already with many having to walk in order to get around in the tropical heat.
