Asia-Pacific leaders condemned the terrorist attacks in Paris, Egypt and elsewhere and called for cooperation to propel growth as a way to stem such violence as they wrapped up a two-day summit Thursday in Manila.
Following the meeting's close, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Manila. The two leaders were expected to confirm cooperation in addressing China's increasing territorial ambitions in the South China Sea. They were also expected to agree to reinforce the two powers' anti-terror cooperation.
In a joint declaration, the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum also called for an increased effort to meet their goal of establishing a region-wide free trade bloc after part of the APEC members agreed last month on what they see as a base trade scheme for the bloc.