Saturday, April 11, 2009

Leaders attending the East Asia Summit were evacuated by helicopter from the seaside city of Pattaya to a nearby military airport, while some delegates were whisked away on navy boats.

'What can we say?' said Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Rafael Seguis. 'It had to be postponed because it was no longer comfortable and convenient for the heads of state to be meeting because of the chaos.'

'I think they were just really after the Thai prime minister,' Philippine Press Secretary Cerge Remonde told ABS-CBN television in Manila after being airlifted by helicopter. 'I didn't really feel threatened.'

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso called the cancellation 'unfortunate' but an 'inevitable result despite maximum efforts by the Thai government,' said a spokesman, Osamu Sakashita.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd never made it out of his airplane, which was two hours into a seven-hour flight when the decision was made to divert and return home, spokesman Lachlan Harris said.

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said he hoped the summit could be rescheduled within the next few months - but some leaders expressed skepticism.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said it was doubtful that Thailand would be able to host a rescheduled Asia summit anytime soon.

'You have to question now whether that can go ahead because of the events over the past couple of days,' he said through an official spokesman, who declined to be named saying he was issuing the statement on behalf of the prime minister.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was scheduled to attend the summit Sunday, expressed 'deep regret' over the cancellation and called for calm.

'I hope for an early restoration of normalcy in Thailand and for the settlement of differences through dialogue and peaceful means,' Ban said in a statement.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said China understands the decision to postpone the summit and hopes Thailand can maintain political stability, social harmony and economic growth, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. -- AP