Australia, Canada, EU to reopen embassies in the Philippines

Australia, Canada, EU to reopen embassies in the Philippines

Mynardo Macaraig, Agence France-Presse, Manila

Australia, Canada and the European Union (EU) said on Friday they
would reopen their embassies in Manila which were shut last month
after reported terrorist threats from Islamic extremists.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople told the Foreign
Correspondents Association of the Philippines that the EU office
had reopened on Friday while the Australian embassy was planning
to reopen on Jan. 2.

The Canadian embassy issued a statement saying it would reopen
on Dec. 30.

Ottawa has also lifted travel restrictions on Canadians to the
Philippines, Canadian embassy counselor Heather Forton told AFP.
Previously Ottawa had advised Canadians not to visit the country.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in Sydney on
Friday that the decision to reopen the embassy was based on an
assessment that the specific threat against the mission had now
passed.

Canberra is also reviewing its advisory for Australians to
avoid non-essential travel anywhere in the Philippines, Ople
said.

"We are deeply pleased with these developments which signal to
the world that the Philippines is a safe and secure destination
for foreign investors and tourists," Ople said.

All three foreign missions have expressed satisfaction with
the heightened security provided by Manila, the foreign office
said here.

Ople said the Australian embassy was planning to relocate to a
safer area by March, adding that the Canadian embassy would also
relocate. Both will remain within the Manila financial district
of Makati, he added.

The Australian and Canadian missions, both housed in separate
office towers, closed their doors on Nov. 28 amid reports of a
terror plot against specific embassies and foreign nationalities.

The EU office, which is located in the same building as the
Australian embassy, also shut down as a security precaution.

However the closures angered the Philippine government which
said that the alleged threat was exaggerated and that the
shutdowns harmed the country's image.

Earlier this month, a Philippine police intelligence official
was sacked for allegedly causing the closures by leaking
information of the terrorist threat without first clearing it
with higher authorities.

Western diplomatic missions across Southeast Asia have
sporadically shut their doors since a wave of threats linked to
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and its regional allies around
the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in the
United States.

Fears of new attacks have intensified since the Oct. 12 Bali
terrorist bombing which killed nearly 200 people and a spate of
deadly bomb blasts in the Philippines in October.

Despite the disagreement over the attacks, Ople stressed the
good bilateral defense relations, remarking that the Philippines
sends about 100 military officers for training in Australia every
year.

He said the two sides were still working on a memorandum of
understanding for joint anti-terrorism training but remarked that
this would "certainly not (include) operations," of Australian
troops in the Philippines.

Ople also said the Philippines had forged stronger alliances
with its neighbors and Western nations in fighting terrorism,
citing a recent trilateral agreement with Indonesia and Malaysia.

He warned that "some governments will have to pay a political
cost," for supporting their neighbors in anti-terror operations.
"But these are costs that cannot be avoided," he said.