Next Asean Summit To Be Held In Cha-am, Hua Hin

[george]

Next Asean summit to be held in Cha-Am, Hua Hin

BANGKOK: -- The 15th Asean summit would be held in Cha-Am and Hua Hin in October, moving from originally announced Phuket, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Friday.

"After consult with security concern agencies, we decided to choose Cha-Am/Hua Hin for the meeting," he said.

The 15th summit of Asean leaders and partners from Asia and Pacific would be held on October 23-25, he said.

Thailand as the chair has circulated the decision to all other members for the decision, he said.

-- The Nation 2009-08-14

Related links:

Read more:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Asean-Summit...-H-t288811.html

Hua Hin/Cha-Am Forum:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Hua-Hin-Cha-Forum-f34.html

[LawnGnome]

A good choice. My wife and I were there on Sunday-Wednesday, and it is very very empty. Could use the tourism boost. Also the Red Shirts would never cause any trouble. Not in "his" town.

[george]

Update:

Thai piercing festival, security prompt ASEAN change

BANGKOK: -- Thailand is moving an Asian summit in October away from the island of Phuket because it coincides with a religious festival where devotees pierce their bodies with skewers, a minister said Friday.

The meeting of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and regional dialogue partners will now take place in the royal beach resort of Hua Hin, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said.

Thailand, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the 10-member bloc, has repeatedly changed the venue and date of the summit due to the ongoing political turmoil in the kingdom.

"The foreign ministry has decided to hold the meeting in Hua Hin. It's a more suitable place than Phuket, Pattaya, or Bangkok," Kasit told reporters.

"It's is about security for our guests, we can take care of them better there and the programme is unchanged for October 23-25. Coincidentally there is also the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket during that time," he said.

The Vegetarian Festival is an annual event on the southern tourist isle at which devotees pierce their cheeks with skewers and slash themselves with blades.

The summit was meant to be last December in Bangkok but was delayed by a blockade of Bangkok's airports by "Yellow Shirt" protesters, a campaign that helped to drive allies of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra from government.

Thaksin supporters known as "Red Shirts" then stormed the summit when it was held in the beach resort of Pattaya, forcing it to be called off and leading to several foreign leaders being evacuated by helicopter.

The government then said the summit would take place in Phuket in June but then moved the date to October, ten months late.

A meeting of Asian foreign ministers attended by US Secretary of State went ahead as planned in Phuket last month.

The summit was meant to host the 10-nation ASEAN plus its dialogue partners China, Japan and South Korea, and a wider grouping including Australia, India and New Zealand.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

-- AFP 2009-08-14

[edwinchester]

Update:

The Vegetarian Festival is an annual event on the southern tourist isle at which devotees pierce their cheeks with skewers and slash themselves with blades.

-- AFP 2009-08-14

Guess it makes up for not eating meat.

[dale8]

Hello, I hope they have better luck with the meeting this time. The world is watching what happens there.

[george]

ASEAN SUMMIT

Phuket too dangerous

BANGKOK: -- The 15th Asean summit will be held in Cha-am/Hua Hin in October, not as originally announced in Phuket, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.

"After consultation with security agencies, we have decided on Cha-am/Hua Hin," he said.

The summit of Asean leaders and their Asia-Pacific partners will be held on October 23-25, he said.

Thailand as the chair has circulated the decision to the other members for consideration, he said.

The government announced during the Asean Ministerial Meeting in Phuket in July that the next summit would be held in Phuket, but agencies suggested they could more conveniently provide security in Cha-am/Hua Hin.

The difficulty appears to be the resort island's vegetarian festival in October, Kasit said.

The safety of the leaders is a priority, he said.

-- The Nation 2009-08-15