Apec leaders at the conference table during the summit in Vladivostok on Sept 9. Participants included national leaders from China, Japan, South Korea, Brunei, Canada, Peru, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand. –EPA
THE 20th Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) meeting among 21 nations in the Pacific Rim has come and gone not with a bang, but a whimper. It was held on an island off the Russian seaport of Vladivostok on Sept 8-9.
The timing wasn't good. The summit was overshadowed by continuing diplomatic strains across the region (tensions over territorial claims and disputes over the future direction of trade initiatives) and beyond (security issues and continuing social unrest in the Middle-East); as well as the economic uncertainties in Europe as its leaders grapple and struggle to resolve the 3-year old “debt” crisis amid a double-dip recession in the eurozone, sparking concerns about the global economic downturn.
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