Lima  - United States President George W Bush arrived in Peru Friday afternoon for the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum amid tight security, but timid protests.

The president's Air Force One landed at a military base near Lima's international airport, where he was met by Peruvian Defence Minister Antero Flores Araoz.

The APEC forum is to be Bush's last international summit as US president, before he hands over power to president-elect Barack Obama in January.

Bush made no comments and got into a black limousine that was escorted by a score of SUVs.

Hundreds of activists from various indigenous, student and workers' groups gathered in different areas of Lima to protest his presence in the Peruvian capital. About 1,500 police officers were deployed to keep the situation under control, said police commander Carlos Paz.

Earlier Friday, five university students were arrested in Trujillo, about 550 kilometres north of Lima, as they attempted to paint anti-Bush slogans on walls, Peruvian radio station RPP reported.

The protesters, reportedly students of Trujillo's National University and aged 21-23, could be charged with supporting terrorism, since their slogans allegedly included references to the now-defunct Peruvian guerrilla group Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. The students denied this.

Ahead of his trip to Peru, Bush stressed that he has not neglected relations with Latin America. "I care about our Latin American neighbours," he said in an exclusive interview that the Peruvian daily El Comercio published in Spanish on Friday.

"It is very important for a US president to pay attention to its neighbours, because their orderly and peaceful progress is of great interest for the United States.

"I worry when I hear someone talk about the United States as the big boy in the neighbourhood, always telling people what to do in any particular country," he said.

Bush stressed his support for free trade as a key aspect of his presidency, and spoke of 13 free-trade agreements negotiated during his administration, including one with Peru, "that were a complete success." (dpa)