Anti-APEC Protests Take Place in Manila

Local Editor

Large protests are taking place on the streets on the Philippine capital, Manila, where leaders are attending the APEC regional trade summit.

Hundreds of people from indigenous, student and labor groups clashed with police, who deployed water cannon.

The summit has been overshadowed by territorial disputes over China's activities in the South China Sea.

Leaders have also called for greater global anti-terror co-operation following the Paris attacks.

A draft copy of a declaration due to be released later today says leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] summit "strongly condemn" all acts of terror and stress the "urgent need for increased international co-operation and solidarity in the fight against terrorism".

Protesters gathered on Thursday morning in the Manila Bay area, where the APEC meetings have been held.

The anti-globalization protesters were calling for APEC to be dismantled, accusing the trade bloc of taking advantage of poorer countries.

A protest leader, Renato Reyes, told the Associated Press news agency: "APEC and imperialist globalization have only benefited the rich countries while further impoverishing developing countries like the Philippines."

Tens of thousands of soldiers and policemen are already in place in the sprawling city to guard against disruptions and potential terrorist attacks.

Demonstrators carrying big placards under the hot sun are chanting anti-APEC, anti-US slogans such as "down with APEC, down with America".

Hundreds of police with batons, truncheons and shields are blocking the protestors from getting near the venue.

World leaders at the summit have been discussing issues such as climate change and regional economic co-operation.

But the ongoing dispute among several Asian countries that have overlapping claims in the resource-rich South China Sea has also been in focus.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team