MANILA: Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe feasted on bean soup and rice cakes at the humble home of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, and sampled the down-to-earth living of a volatile new friend who is shaking up the status quo in Asia.
With the backdrop of family photos, cups hanging from kitchen cabinets and clusters of used beer and wine bottles, Abe ate Duterte’s favourite breakfast in Davao City and was given a tour of his creaky, two-storey house, including a bedroom featuring the mosquito net he sleeps under on most weekends.
Duterte’s simple living is part of the man-of-the-people style that endeared him to the millions of Filipino voters who in May favoured an abrasive city mayor over wealthy politicians on a largely Manila-centric ballot.
Abe’s visit comes as the Philippines edges closer to becoming a geostrategic battleground, with China offering billions in loans and investments, as Duterte opts to befriend Beijing and avoid challenging its maritime claims while ramping up hostility towards historic ally Washington.
