UN chief Ban Ki-moon Saturday led expressions of regret over the shock cancellation of an Asian summit after thousands of anti-government protesters stormed the venue in Thailand. “I deeply regret the postponement of the ASEAN and related summits and the consequent postponement of my attendance to the events,” Ban said in a statement from neighbouring Laos, where he was on a short visit. “I hope for an early restoration of normalcy in Thailand and for the settlement of differences through dialogue and peaceful means,” said Ban, who had been due to attend the talks Sunday. Asian leaders respond Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the turmoil was a “domestic issue” and supported Thailand's continued chairmanship of ASEAN. “We should give them a chance,” he said, adding however that the Thai government should also give an assurance that Saturday's events will not be repeated. “What can we say?” said Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Rafael Seguis. “It had to be postponed because it was no longer comfortable and convenient for the heads of state to be meeting because of the chaos.” Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso called the cancellation “unfortunate” but an “inevitable result despite maximum efforts by the Thai government,” said a spokesman, Osamu Sakashita. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said it was doubtful that Thailand would be able to host a rescheduled Asia summit anytime soon. “You have to question now whether that can go ahead because of the events over the past couple of days,” Key said through an official spokesman, who declined to be named saying he was issuing the statement on behalf of the prime minister. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said China understands the decision to postpone the summit and hopes Thailand can maintain political stability, social harmony and economic growth, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd never made it out of his airplane, which was two hours into a seven-hour flight when the decision was made to divert and return home, a spokesman said.
