RP security tight for Asia-Pacific meet<\/p>\n
By Uday Khandeparkar<\/p>\n
SUBIC BAY, Philippines (Reuter): The Naval Magazine used to be
\nimpenetrable, with deep silos where ammunition was stored built
\nin a heavily guarded clearing between a 12-hectare rain-forest
\nand the deep waters of Triboa Bay.<\/p>\n
Most of the silos have now been demolished to make way for 21
\nspecially built villas, where leaders of the Asia Pacific
\nEconomic Cooperation (APEC) forum will stay when they arrive in
\nthis freeport on Nov. 25 for their annual summit.<\/p>\n
The villas, which cost $1 million each according to Subic
\nofficials, have been built there not just for views of lush
\nforest and the blue-green waters of the bay, but because of its
\nfortified location.<\/p>\n
Two or three of the leaders may stay in the villas overnight
\non Nov. 25, APEC organizers say, but most will spend just a few
\nhours there -- safe behind one-foot thick concrete walls and
\nwindows with bulletproof glass.<\/p>\n
The security of the 16 visiting leaders, who will include U.S.
\nPresident Bill Clinton, is the overriding concern for the
\nPhilippines as summit hosts.<\/p>\n
\"This was the most secure area when the Americans were here,\"
\nsaid Ferdinand Roaquin, a public relations officer of the Subic
\nBay Metropolitan Authority, which runs the freeport.<\/p>\n
The freeport was set up in 1992 on the site of what used to be
\nthe biggest U.S. naval base outside the United States.<\/p>\n
For nearly 50 years after the end of World War II, Subic's
\ndeep natural harbor helped the U.S. Navy project its power
\nthroughout the Pacific and to the Asian mainland itself.<\/p>\n
Subic was an important asset during the Vietnam War both
\nbecause of its port, its rest and recreation facilities and its
\nCubi Point naval air station, now a flourishing airport.<\/p>\n
The Americans left after the Philippine Senate refused to
\nrenew the lease.<\/p>\n
In the next few weeks many Americans will return, though this
\ntime as guests.<\/p>\n
\"This place will be crawling with Secret Service agents,\" said
\nRoaquin as a party of journalists viewed the villas from a moving
\nbus.<\/p>\n
The bus was escorted by the Philippines' elite Presidential
\nSecurity Group and was not allowed to stop. Pictures were
\nforbidden.<\/p>\n
The Philippine police and military are mobilizing thousands of
\nmen and women to provide security at Subic and in Manila, where
\nthe leaders will gather on Nov. 24 at the end of an APEC foreign
\nministers' meeting.<\/p>\n
Tales of how well the villas will be protected abound.<\/p>\n
\"This was the most restricted place earlier. It had double
\nfencing and people say one of them was electrified. I don't know
\nif it may be reactivated during APEC,\" one resident, speaking
\nanonymously.<\/p>\n
Scheduled to arrive in Subic early on Nov. 25, the leaders
\nwill be taken straight from the airport to their villas, a five-
\nminute drive away.<\/p>\n
They will then gather for a formal welcome from President
\nFidel Ramos at the Leaders' Hall in the extensively renovated
\nformer Cubi Point Officers Club.<\/p>\n
The renovations have left intact the nose of a Dakota
\ntransport aircraft built into the wall of what used to be a disco
\nfrequented by U.S. military personnel.<\/p>",
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