Japan also hopes to get a firm date for a visit this year by Chinese leaders.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard and his New Zealand counterpart Helen Clark were due in Cebu ahead of Monday's second annual East Asia Summit, a new 16-nation grouping.

On Saturday, ASEAN leaders ended their own summit with pledges to get tougher on terrorism, move faster towards the single market and reshape the bloc to keep pace with the competition of the 21st century.

They signed their first convention on fighting terrorism and pledged to create a charter that would transform the group into a legal entity with European Union-style rules and regulations.

But their final statement was delayed in part over wrangling about Myanmar, the group's most troublesome member. ASEAN said Sunday it would take responsibility for handling the military-ruled nation.

Analysts say one test of the charter will be the provisions it allows for member states to be punished for non-compliance with any rules that are established.

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