Shinzo Abe arrives in Manila for Asean Summit

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived on Sunday afternoon in the Philippines to attend the  31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asea) Summit.

Abe arrived at around 2 pm at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) and was welcomed by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.

He is among the 21 regional and world leaders to attend the regional summit, as Japan is a dialogue partner of the Asean.

Abe’s visit to the Philippines came right after he attended the Asia-Pacific Cooperation (Apec) in Vietnam.

Abe will be attending the Asean-Japan Summit, the Mekong-Japan Summit, and the East Asia Summit all set in the next two days.

Malacañang had earlier described Japan as a “true friend” for its assistance to the Philippines in combating terrorism.

Duterte had embarked on a working visit to Japan on October 29 to 31 further enhance the strong bilateral relations between the Philippines and Japan.

The President first visited Japan as the country’s chief executive on October 2016. /je