The Philippines however insisted the postponement was due primarily to an approaching storm, not the warnings. Sources at the Department of Foreign Affairs and police agencies told The Manila Times a terrorist threat and scheduled massive protests were also factors in the decision.

“The decision was based on this weather disturbance and on this disturbance only," national organizing chief Marciano Paynor told a press conference in Cebu City, where senior officials of Asean states already started meeting.

He said ministerial meetings were expected to go ahead but that summits of national leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the wider East Asia Summit would be put off until January.

When the postponement was announced, Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz, Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo and Thai Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram had already arrived in Cebu.

The annual summit of the 10-nation Asean bloc, and the fledgling expanded regional grouping known as the East Asia Summit, are major events on the Asian diplomatic calendar that draw leaders from across the region.

The announcement caused confusion because minutes before the press briefing, the weather agency, Pagasa, said Tropical Storm Seniang was shaping up as a relative lightweight as storms go. The tone of Pagasa forecaster Joel Desusa however changed after the postponment was announced. He said that even if the storm was not very strong, it can still cause serious damage similar to Typhoon Reming which caused a heavy toll on lives and properties.

Filipino diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Times that governments of Asean member-states had weighed in with concern, following consultations with intelligence agencies of the United States, Britain, Australia and Japan, which had all warned of a terrorist plot to attack the summit, scheduled from December 11 to 14.

The government also faced massive political rallies in protest of Charter change next week, with major religious groups like the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, the El Shaddai and major protestant denominations announcing joint actions with militant groups and the traditional political opposition.

Aside from ASEAN leaders, six other heads of state, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister John  Howard, are to attend the largest international event to be hosted by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s government.