The crowds in Manila were protesting APEC's free-trade agenda, claiming 'it favoured big international corporations'

Protests held outside Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila where 21 world leaders had gathered


Philippines officials deployed some unusual crowd control tactics on Thursday, as thousands of activists clashed with riot police at the Asia-Pacific leaders' summit in Manila.

Some 2,000 left-wing protesters had been marching towards the venue where the leaders of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) nations, including US President Barack Obama, were meeting, and the situation soon turned violent as activists tried to break through police lines.

After initially resorting to traditional methods such as water cannons and riot shields, police began blasting Katy Perry on full volume into the street to disperse the crowd.

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You're gonna hear me roar: Filipino activists shout at riot police officers during a protest rally near the venue of the on-going Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila

Put your hands up: Police in Manila played Katy Perry's Roar and David Guetta's Sexy B**** on full volume to disperse the crowd

Comin' at ya like a dark horse: Some 1,000 protesters clashed with police near the convention centre, which saw Manila officers use water cannons and wooden batons to stop their march, before starting to play music

Police in riot gear, armed with wooden batons and backed up by water cannons lined the street to halt the protest march as it moved closer to the APEC summit venue in Manila.

Activists were chanting 'Junk APEC' and 'no to imperialism' while carrying placards criticizing the group's free-trade agenda, and soon clashed with police in the street.

Police responded by firing water cannons and scuffled with protesters, before pulling out their secret weapon: Katy Perry on giant loudspeakers.

Perry's hit song 'Roar' was played at full volume, the top of a 'demonstration disco playlist' aimed at distracting the protesters and drowning out their chants.

Dolly Parton's Islands in the stream, David Guetta's Sexy B**** and the Bee Gees' How Deep Is Your Love were among the other songs deployed against the protesters. In addition, some of the police tapped their batons against their shields in time with the music, according to reports.

'It's ridiculous,' leftist member of parliament Carlos Isagani Zarate said, as the protesters retreated to The Temptations' soul classic My Girl.

Come Guetta me: As well as Guetta and Perry, police forces also blasted disco classics, the Bee Gees, The Temptations and Dolly Parton,

Tough crowd: Activists later slammed police for using pop music to drown out their chanting and to break up the protest

This is how we do: Manila police said the music was aimed at de-escalating tensions and to have a calming effect

Many other protesters also expressed anger at authorities trying to suppress their message of opposition to globalisation and free-trade policies championed by APEC.

'We just want to make our voices heard,' 64-year-old mango farmer Candelario Rusasena told reporters.

Metro Manila police spokeswoman chief inspector Kimberly Gonzales said the music was nopt intented to trivialise the rally, but had aimed at de-escalating tensions.

'Filipinos in general love music and it has a calming effect for everyone. This goes well with our maximum tolerance policy during protests,' Gonzales said.

'We understand the seriousness of the issues. We don't mean to insult people.'

The protests occurred as Philippine President Benigno Aquino was welcoming Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders for the summit's second and final day.

You're hot then you're cold:The crowds in Manila were protesting APEC's free-trade agenda, claiming 'it favoured big corporations'

Not Dolly Parton! A protester is clearly not happy with the playlist as he pushes riot police using a home-made shield

Singing in the rain? Filipino activists clash with riot police officers who responded to protests with water cannons and Katy Perry

Security was beefed up at the meeting venues after Islamist militants in the southern Philippines beheaded a Malaysian hostage on the eve of the opening of the APEC summit

The protesters said they opposed APEC's free-trade agenda because it favoured big corporations and neglected the poor.

'Aquino should protect his people, globalisation has caused the prices of our goods to go down. We barely break even,' 47-year-old rice farmer Nida Floresca told AFP.

'We don't even have irrigation to water our crops. Aquino should think of us first.'

Floresca came with several neighbours from their farming town in La Union around 180 miles north of Manila. They marched in sandals and straw hats.

One police officer estimated the crowd of protesters at about 2,000, although there were no official numbers given.

More than 20,000 police and soldiers were deployed this week to ensure security during the APEC summit.

Philippine authorities said they had already been planning the nation's biggest ever security operation for the meeting, which was ratcheted up even higher after last week's deadly terrorist attacks in Paris.

Protesters burn an effigy during a rally near the venue of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Manila

Groups from different sectors march along Buendia in Pasay City near Philippine International Convention Center, the venue of APEC Summit economic leaders' meeting in Manila Philippines