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.