Cancellations & clashes

Thousands of protesters who want to unseat the Thai prime minister have swarmed at the site of a weekend summit of Asian leaders at this beachside town of Pattaya southeast of Bangkok. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

PATTAYA (Thailand) - THE foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea cancelled a meeting at an Asian summit here on Saturday after Thai anti-government protesters blockaded their hotel, officials said.

A Thai official also says that a meeting between leaders from China and Southeast Asia has been postponed because anti-government protesters have blocked access to the meeting site.

Thousands of protesters who want to unseat the Thai prime minister have swarmed at the site of a weekend summit of Asian leaders at this beachside town of Pattaya southeast of Bangkok.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said Saturday he expected the meeting to be held soon.

The East Asia summit brings together leaders from 16 Asian nations, and overcoming the global economic slump is at the top of the agenda. -- AP

Hundreds of demonstrators calling for the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva prevented the Japanese minister's car from entering the venue in the beach resort of Pattaya, AFP reporters said.

The meeting, which was set to discuss North Korea's recent rocket launch and economic issues, was called off after the ministers had waited for an hour, officials from the Chinese and Japanese delegations said.

'The meeting has been cancelled,' a senior Chinese official told AFP.

It was the first time that the red-shirted supporters of fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra had managed to disrupt the summit programme since they descended on Pattaya a day earlier.

About 2,000 demonstrators on Friday laid siege to the main venue of the meeting of 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders plus their counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

They had dispersed overnight but returned early on Saturday to block the road outside the meeting of the three east Asian nations with taxis and at least two large trucks, witnesses said. -- AFP