Asia resilient despite eurozone crisis: Japan PM

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Nov 19 (AFP): Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Saturday that Asian economies were unlikely to be affected by the eurozone crisis because of large surpluses and hefty foreign reserves. "We understand the eurozone crisis is in a far away land but is the Asian economy vulnerable to it? I don't think so, necessarily," Noda told reporters at the East Asia Summit on Indonesia's Bali island. He said that since the last Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998, regional nations had been cautious in their economic management and were now more resilient to the impact of external shocks. "They have managed their macroeconomic policies in a sound manner," he said. "Generally, their economies are in surplus, they also have high levels of foreign reserves. "I believe they have a stronger capacity than before to deal with external shocks," Noda said.