THE ASEAN Plus Six Summit, scheduled for Phuket in June, is being postponed until October.
Foreign Minister Kasit Pirom said at a media conference in Bangkok this afternoon that some of the leaders of the 16 nations involved had found the June schedule too difficult.
Governor Wichai Praisa-nob told Phuketwan Phuket would now have extra time to make sure the summit went off perfectly.
Careful planning has been continuing on Phuket with the summit scheduled for June 13-14.
Disappointment will be the prevailing mood on the island because officials and residents were keen to show they could cope with holding a large and important event successfully at short notice.
''We can now make sure Phuket does the summit well when it comes in October,'' the governor said.
Security planning especially had been progressing rapidly, with discussions centring on the scale of protection without compromising the island's peaceful image.
But among diplomats of some of the larger countries, the dates have proved to be unsuitable.
First warning of a potential delay came yesterday when the Foreign Minister declined to give an update on the number of nations who had agreed to attend in June.
Senior Foreign Ministry officials are to meet again next week - ironically on Phuket - to determine a new date.
At least three countries have said they could not make a June summit, with India and Indonesia undergoing national elections.
In MediaWATCH on Tuesday we asked: Will the Phuket Asean Summit go ahead? A Singapore report says diplomats have doubts.
Writing in the Straits Times, correspondent Nirmal Ghosh reported: ''Officials and diplomats have been making trips to Phuket to sort out logistics and other issues, but as of yesterday apart from the host, none of the 15 countries had confirmed that its leaders would attend.
''A lot of countries are quietly wondering why there should be a summit in June when there is another scheduled for October.
''It seems Thailand is more intent on restoring its own image,'' one diplomat said, requesting anonymity.
Another diplomat echoed the view, saying: ''Nobody seems very comfortable. Everyone would be much happier if the two summits were rolled together in October.''
The Asean Plus Six Summit has a troubled history. First scheduled for Bangkok, it was postponed because of the invasion of the capital's airports by yellow shirt protesters in November.
Then it was to be Phuket's turn, but sufficient accommodation could not be found during the Songkran-Easter break, so it went to Pattaya.
Poor security led to red shirt protesters invading the resort on the day the summit was to begin, triggering an emergency airlift to safety for some national leaders.
The 10-member Asean grouping of Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines is to be bolstered now in October, calendars permitting, by China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.
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Foreign Minister Kasit Pirom said at a media conference in Bangkok this afternoon that some of the leaders of the 16 nations involved had found the June schedule too difficult.
Governor Wichai Praisa-nob told Phuketwan Phuket would now have extra time to make sure the summit went off perfectly.
Careful planning has been continuing on Phuket with the summit scheduled for June 13-14.
Disappointment will be the prevailing mood on the island because officials and residents were keen to show they could cope with holding a large and important event successfully at short notice.
''We can now make sure Phuket does the summit well when it comes in October,'' the governor said.
Security planning especially had been progressing rapidly, with discussions centring on the scale of protection without compromising the island's peaceful image.
But among diplomats of some of the larger countries, the dates have proved to be unsuitable.
First warning of a potential delay came yesterday when the Foreign Minister declined to give an update on the number of nations who had agreed to attend in June.
Senior Foreign Ministry officials are to meet again next week - ironically on Phuket - to determine a new date.
At least three countries have said they could not make a June summit, with India and Indonesia undergoing national elections.
In MediaWATCH on Tuesday we asked: Will the Phuket Asean Summit go ahead? A Singapore report says diplomats have doubts.
Writing in the Straits Times, correspondent Nirmal Ghosh reported: ''Officials and diplomats have been making trips to Phuket to sort out logistics and other issues, but as of yesterday apart from the host, none of the 15 countries had confirmed that its leaders would attend.
''A lot of countries are quietly wondering why there should be a summit in June when there is another scheduled for October.
''It seems Thailand is more intent on restoring its own image,'' one diplomat said, requesting anonymity.
Another diplomat echoed the view, saying: ''Nobody seems very comfortable. Everyone would be much happier if the two summits were rolled together in October.''
The Asean Plus Six Summit has a troubled history. First scheduled for Bangkok, it was postponed because of the invasion of the capital's airports by yellow shirt protesters in November.
Then it was to be Phuket's turn, but sufficient accommodation could not be found during the Songkran-Easter break, so it went to Pattaya.
Poor security led to red shirt protesters invading the resort on the day the summit was to begin, triggering an emergency airlift to safety for some national leaders.
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