After being postponed the 12th Association of South East Asian Nations Summit had started. It should had been held in December but was postponed due to the coming of a tropical storm although cynics say it was because a terrorist threat. The delay was fortuitous as it gave the organizers time to finish the facilities as well as giving a dry run for security forces to polish their act. The authorities were given the opportunity to identify militant elements from here and abroad and provided them with means how to deal with them.

The Summit , a meeting of the heads of state of South East Asian countries, most of them had been considered members of the Third World . Their meeting could have been held in any of the member nation's capital but Cebu City was chosen. This is a significant honor for Cebu and the rest of the country. However, militant groups are making noise trying to prove something. Their reasons are more or less, self serving, forgetting all along that the Philippines belong to the community of nations in general and to the South East Asia in particular.

International associations are born put of necessity, nations tend to band together to prevent stronger ones to impose their will on their destinies. Democratic nations group together for mutual assistance against totalitarian countries. Totalitarian nations do likewise. This is because they share common ideology. They enter into pacts and treaties among themselves for mutual benefit. Conflicts between the two ideologies result in wars. Previously wars were political in nature. Previous major conflicts were wars of successions or conquests, therefore political. This was a major cause of the First World War.

The political problems took a backseat to economics. Industrial Revolution created a new aristocracy. Struggle for dominance of the world market resulted into conflicts. When Adolf Hitler tried to take Germany away from the gold standard, pressure was exerted against him. The German dictator let loose his secretly train legions and started the Second World War. The results were devastating on both sides that countries abandoned war as an instrument of national policy. Defensive alliances like the NATO, SEATO and CENTO lost their value. But the economic offensive goes on.

Goods of the United States , a nation, whose resources had been untouched in both Wars, started to flood Europe . At first, they were welcomed but when European nations regained their feet, they feared that American goods would dominate the market and kill their recovering industries. They traditional enemies grouped together and eventually formed the European Union and coined a common currency called the Euro. Meanwhile Japan has achieved the goals of the South East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere, an aim, which was denied her during the last war.

The world's most lucrative market today is the 560 millions in South East Asia but the countries therein has also their growing industries, which are threatened to be swamped by quality yet cheap products. They decided to organize, thus ASEAN was created. This organization must form a solid front to be able to have a big voice the World Trade Organization a worldwide organization, which. advocate the GATT or tariff less trade.