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Southeast Asia Chiefs Meet in Tight Security in Manila

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Associated Press

In defiance of terrorist threats, Southeast Asian leaders met Monday to pledge support for the embattled Philippine government, but they sidestepped comment on the country’s U.S. bases.

No serious incidents were reported, although about 1,500 leftists rallied three miles away from the summit site to protest alleged U.S.-Japanese domination of Southeast Asia. The protesters dispersed peacefully.

Extremists had threatened to disrupt the Southeast Asian leaders’ talks to embarrass the 21-month-old administration of President Corazon Aquino.

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About 10,000 Filipino troops and warships from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia are providing security for the two-day summit of the Assn. of South East Asian Nations. No major new initiatives came from the opening ASEAN session, the group’s first summit in 10 years.

Members of ASEAN--Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines--affirmed support for the host government of Aquino despite threats from Communist rebels and right-wing supporters of former dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.

After the opening ceremonies, the ASEAN leaders adjourned for private talks. But conference sources said the sessions produced little beyond long-held positions of an association often criticized for lack of direction and common political will.

In a draft version of a final declaration, ASEAN leaders renew their call for Vietnam to end its occupation of Cambodia; repeat the goal of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the region; declare strong opposition to drug abuse and trafficking, and pledge greater economic cooperation.

The document took no stand on the future of U.S. military bases in the Philippines. The lease expires in 1991, and there is considerable opposition in the Philippines to renewing the agreement.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the longest-serving ASEAN leader, said the participants were well aware of the risks of meeting in the unstable regional capital. But Lee told Aquino that regional leaders heeded the call of Indonesian President Suharto to meet in Manila “to show united ASEAN support at a time when there were attempts to destabilize your government.”

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