WORLD NEWS

HUA HIN: Thailand is implementing a security lockdown for the meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)with observers warning it cannot afford a repeat of chaotic scenes that saw two previous meetings cancelled.

The nation is mobilising an 18,000-strong security force and invoking a harsh internal security act to prevent protests in the resort town of Hua Hin.

The summit, which will begin today starts Friday, was originally due to be held in Pattaya in April but was cancelled because of chaotic anti-government protests in support of ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

A summit between the 10 ASEAN nations will be following by a meeting with partners China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

With closer economic ties on the agenda in the wake of the global economic crisis, all invited delegations have confirmed they will attend.

Thailand will symbolically hand over chairmanship of ASEAN to Vietnam on Sunday but officially will continue to hold the reins until the end of the year.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.