Japan offers Asean countries $20bn in aid and loans

BBC News, 14 December 2013

Japan is looking to boost ties with Asean nations

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Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has offered SE Asian countries almost $20bn (£12bn) in aid and loans, in what is being seen as an effort to combat Chinese expansion.

The announcement came at a summit in Tokyo, weeks after China's declaration of a new air defence zone overlapping areas claimed by Japan and South Korea.

Japan seeks to rally support from the 10 Asean nations, some of whom also have territorial disputes with China.

But Indonesia said good China-Japan ties were "critical" for the region.

The Tokyo summit marks 40 years of Japan's ties with the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).

'Freedom of navigation'

Mr Abe said the financial package will be spread over five years, and will mostly take the form of concessional loans.

It will focus on development in the Mekong river region, which stretches from China in the north down through south-east Asia, and fund transport projects.

Regional ties with China are riven
with territorial disputes

"Together with Asean, I want to build the future of Asia where laws, rather than power, rule and people who worked hard will be rewarded - which would lead to a prosperous society with mutual respect," Mr Abe said at the start of the meeting.

"I hope we will adopt a mid- to long-term vision that would define the way Japan and Asean co-operate in the future," he added.

Tensions have been exacerbated by China's unilateral declaration, last month, of an air defence zone above the East China Sea - the Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

A joint statement issued by Japanese and Asean leaders called for free passage and commerce in the region, Reuters news agency reported, without making explicit reference to the ADIZ.

"We underscored the importance of maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the region and promoting maritime security and safety, freedom of navigation, unimpeded commerce, exercise of self-restraint and resolution of disputes by peaceful means in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law," the statement said, according to Reuters.

Earlier, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said good relations between China and Japan were "critical to the future" of the region.

"Indonesia is deeply concerned at the prospect of the disputes erupting into open conflicts, which will have adverse impacts on all countries in the region," he said.

The Philippines, which is involved in an ongoing row with China over islands in the South China Sea, said it was committed to freedom of flight in international airspace without specifically mentioning China.

Defence zone

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, asked about the summit on Thursday, said the relevant countries should work to maintain regional stability.

The countries "in developing their relations, should not target third parties or hurt third-party interests", he said.

The ADIZ over the East China Sea includes disputed islands which are controlled by Japan. It also includes a partially submerged rock claimed by South Korea.

China had said that aircraft flying through the ADIZ must follow its rules, including filing flight plans and identifying themselves. There are fears a similar zone will be declared above the resource-rich South China Sea, which China largely claims as its own.

Military aircraft from the US, Japan and South Korea have defied the ADIZ, flying unannounced through the area.

Washington has called China's declaration of an ADIZ a bid to unilaterally change the status quo in the region.

Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Related Article:

Japan, China Ties ‘Critical’ for Asia: Indonesia