No-fly-zone declared in ASEAN summit venues in Philippines

A "no-fly-zone" will be imposed during the holding of the 10th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Cebu from Jan. 10 to 15, a spokesman of the Armed Forces Central Command announced on Tuesday.

The spokesman Lt. Col. Jeffferson Omandam said the no-fly zone would cover the airport area and the different venues of the summit, such as Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort in Lapulapu City, Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, and Marco Polo Plaza Cebu in Cebu City.

Regular air traffic at the airports will not be affected but commercial and private planes will have to follow all the instructions upon entering the air space restriction zone.

The air space restriction zone will allow the military to detect any unauthorized aircraft and provide ground personnel time to react to intrusions.

Meanwhile, retired Maj. Gen. Leo Alvez, National Organizing Committee assistant secretary general for security, said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon that "the no-fly-zone refers only to small aircraft."

Alvez made the clarification to squelch speculation that air traffic over Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MIA) would be disrupted.

Philippine Air Force (PAF) planes and helicopter will be patrolling Cebu's airspace to intercept small aircraft that may violate the "no-fly-zone" area, Alvez said.

In a related development, Philippine President Macapagal-Arroyo has assured visiting Asian leaders of her country's vigilance against security threats, saying "Our fight against terror goes hand in hand with the global and regional effort."

"And as we face the ASEAN Summit, we would like to assure all our allies in the East Asia and beyond that the Filipino soldiery and people are on watch every hour of the day, determined to do their share to defeat terror for a more secure and safer world,"

Arroyo said in a statement.

Leaders of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are to converge in Cebu this week for the annual ASEAN summit.

Earlier, Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States aired warnings that al-Qaida-linked militants could stage terror attacks during the summit.

The 12th ASEAN Summit was originally scheduled for Dec. 10-14 but was postponed due to a typhoon.

Source: Xinhua