Paris attacks, South China Sea draw focus at APEC talks

Asia-Pacific leaders are voicing outrage over the attacks in Paris as security and geopolitical concerns overshadow talks on trade and the economy at an annual regional summit being held under ultra-tight security in the Philippines.
Leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum plan to condemn the Paris attacks in a joint statement to be released on the last day of meetings, according to a draft of their declaration seen today by The Associated Press.
"We strongly condemn these atrocities that demand a united voice from the global community. We, therefore, reaffirm our strong collective resolve to counter terrorism," the draft statement says.

The attacks by suspected Islamic State group extremists killed 129 people and wounded 350 others. Victims were from at least 19 nations, according to French President Francois Hollande.
Friction over territorial disputes also was not on the official APEC agenda, whose mission is promoting trade and development. But the rifts were inevitably bursting through APEC's facade of handshakes and unity photo ops.
China's territorial ambitions in disputed waters of the South China Sea were weighing on the minds of foreign ministers who met in Manila ahead of the leaders' summit, which begins tomorrow, officials said.

Five APEC countries including the Philippines are at odds with Beijing over conflicting claims to islands in those resource-rich waters.

The US showed solidarity with the Philippines by conducting military maneuvers recently near contested islands where China has reclaimed land and built settlements to shore up its own claims.
Shortly after arriving in Manila, President Barack Obama underscored that support by touring the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a Philippine Navy warship once owned by the US that Manila turned into its largest warship in an otherwise anemic fleet.
Obama said the US will transfer two ships, a research vessel and a US Coast Guard cutter, to the Philippine Navy as part of its "ironclad commitment" to helping fortify the Philippines' maritime security.

The US military maneuvers in the past month involving ships and B-52 bombers were intended to underline that the US won't allow freedom of navigation to be compromised by China's vast claim to the disputed waters.
Beijing objected, but the US actions were welcomed by American allies such as the Philippines, Japan and Australia, which are all APEC founding members.
China sent its top envoy, Wang Yi, to Manila last week to ask Philippine officials not to include the long-simmering disputes in the APEC agenda, paving the way for Xi's attendance in the summit.