Australian authorities said Tuesday they were reviewing security for a key meeting of Asia-Pacific trade ministers in Cairns after detaining an Indian doctor over failed car bombs in Britain.
The 27-year-old hospital registrar was detained late Monday at Brisbane Airport in Queensland state, which from Thursday is to host the two-day meeting of 21 trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum.
Following the arrests, Queensland police commissioner Bob Atkinson said officers were examining security for the Cairns meeting and another gathering of Apec finance ministers to be held in the state from July 30 to August 4. There was no specific intelligence about a threat to the meeting of trade ministers, Atkinson said. Representatives from the United States, China and Japan are to attend the event.
"Obviously though, this latest incident will, I guess, involve further consideration in terms of whether or not we need to increase our security precautions," he told reporters. The meeting would be an opportunity to revitalise stalled World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks on a global trade deal, said Susan Schwab, the trade representative for the United States.
Schwab said she would be promoting the idea of an Asia-Pacific free trade area at the Apec meeting. "(It's) a visionary proposal that Apec is well-suited to take on," she said last week. "By more effectively knitting together the dynamic economies of the region, a (free trade area) would some day yield enormous social and commercial benefits for the people of the Asia-Pacific region, including the United States," she added.
The WTO talks remain stalled over agricultural subsidies and trade tariffs. Discussions between the so-called "G4" - the European Union, United States, Brazil and India - collapsed earlier this month in Potsdam, Germany. Australian Trade Minister Warren Truss said this week that the Apec meeting came as the 150 WTO members seek to reach a draft deal by August.
"It comes at a crucial time because the Doha round is obviously in difficulty," he said. "This will be the first significant gathering of trade ministers since Potsdam and for that reason the discussions that will be held will be helpful."
The meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss possible future courses of action, he added. The Cairns meeting is also expected to discuss strengthening intellectual property rights and facilitating the flow of goods and services throughout the region.
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