ANGELES CITY – Economic cooperation may be the linchpin of the ongoing ASEAN Summit but it apparently proved the viability of the Clark International Airport mainly because of its strategic importance in the aviation industry of the region.
On Sunday, world leaders have descended at the tarmac of the once listless Clark airport, which formerly served as the Mac Terminal of the US 13th Air Force Base. The former US’ Mac Terminal was used extensively during the Vietnam War and the infamous “Operation Baby Lift” which saw the entry of Vietnamese refugees via Clark during the 70s.
Images of Clark airport, now the 3rd busiest airport in the country, were beamed all over the world via international TV networks.
“The security was tight but it was a festive mood,” photojournalist Cris Navarro told iOrbitNews.
The 31st ASEAN Summit had surpassed the festivities that occurred during the ‘probing flight’ of the double-decker Airbus 380 back in 2007. The A380 came all the way from Toulouse, France and Clark airport was its last leg of the journey.
Currently, the Clark airport has 282 flights per week with passenger traffic expected to reach 1.4 million by next month. CRK posted 1.1 million passengers from January to October this year.
The CIAC said President Rodrigo Duterte’s dual airport policy apparently increased flights in and out of the airport.
Duterte has called for greater utilization of the Clark airport and wanted both CRK and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to operate simultaneously.
Clark has a catchment area of 21.4 million potential passengers.
At least 11 ASEAN leaders and dialogue partners arrived via the Clark airport on Sunday. Among them include Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, Lao PDR Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
The dialogue-partners include Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. The delegates are now currently in Manila holding talks covering political and security, economic, and socio-cultural matters.
The ASEAN seeks to bring an inclusive, sustainable, and equitable development in the ASEAN region.
“With five decades of its own history and a long track record of cooperation with its partners, commemorative summits will be held during the two-day summit including the 40th anniversaries Commemorative Summits with the United States, Canada, and the European Union. An anticipated highlight of the summit is a meeting of the ASEAN Leaders and their counterparts from countries participating in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations,” the ASEAN said.