MANILA, Dec. 10 : The so-called "Summit for Democracy" initiated by the United States is a deliberate move aimed at fueling divisions and tensions in the world, a Philippine political analyst has said.

"The US democracy summit is designed to advance U.S. geopolitical objectives using the democracy card to serve its strategic interests," Anna Rosario Malindog-Uy wrote in an article recently published by The Asean Post.

The event "will only give rise to new divisions and fuel ideological confrontations and will bring commotion and instability to the world," the analyst said, adding that "the world does not need divisions or the creation of groupings along ideological lines."

Meanwhile, the Philippines' total external trade in goods grew by 15.2 per cent in October to US$16.84 billion from a year earlier, while China remains the top trading partner, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.

Of the total external trade in October, the PSA said 61.9 per cent were imported goods, while the rest were exported goods.

The PSA said China was the South-East Asian country's biggest supplier of imported goods valued at US$2.08 billion or 19.9 per cent of the total imports in October.

Exports to China also comprised the highest value amounting to US$1.01 billion or a share of 15.8 per cent of the total exports.

 - Xinhua