ODA Topics 1

Toward the Realization of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific

The idea of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” proposed by Prime Minister Abe in August 2016, has been widely recognized by the international community over the past two and a half years, during which concrete progress has been made toward its advancement. In order to bring stability and prosperity, equally and fairly to each and every country in the vast Indo-Pacific region, which extends from the Asia-Pacific through the Indian Ocean, to the Middle East and Africa, it is necessary to respond to the immense demand for infrastructure development and enhance connectivity in the region through quality infrastructure development as well as strive to eliminate factors such as piracy and terrorism that inhibit prosperity. Japan continues to work hand in hand with various countries to promote a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” by utilizing ODA effectively.

The new container terminal at Mombasa Port in Kenya, built through an ODA loan (Photo: Toyo Construction)

Enhanced regional connectivity through the development of ports and harbors, railroads, roads and other infrastructure contributes to economic development of the entire region, by activating the flow of goods and people and expanding the economic sphere. However, it is possible that infrastructure projects with poor quality, or projects putting pressure on financial conditions would instead prevent the growth of the region. It is therefore important to promote quality infrastructure development. In Southeast Asia, the core of Japan’s cooperation is the development of the East-West Economic Corridor and the Southern Economic Corridor, which link Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Japan has been driving the development of these two corridors connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean for many years, and currently engages in the construction work on numerous projects, including improving National Highway 5 in Cambodia to double its traffic capacity, and repairing bridges in central Myanmar. In Southwest Asia, Japan works to introduce a high-speed railway in India, applying the technology of Japan’s Shinkansen. It is expected that travel times, which initially took approximately seven hours by existing limited express lines, would be reduced to approximately two hours, by using the high-speed rail. At the same time, through the advancement of technology transfer through human resources development, as well as stations area development, it is expected that this project will lead to further economic growth and job creation, which will ultimately result in poverty reduction in India. Moreover, as for the development of Mombasa Port in Kenya, which connects the landlocked countries of Africa to the Indian Ocean, Japan promotes technology transfer by employing as many as 2,000 Kenyans, while driving the development not only of the port itself, but also the surrounding areas including roads, giving utmost consideration to environmentally-conscious technology and reduction in maintenance and management costs.

Technical guidance to personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (Photo: JICA)

In order to turn these two oceans into an ocean that brings stability and prosperity to the entire region, countermeasures are necessary to address various factors which prevent economic development such as piracy, terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), natural disasters and illegal fishing, as well as to enhance the connectivity of the region. For example, in order to ensure the safety of maritime transport through capacity development of maritime law enforcement agencies of the coastal countries in the Indo-Pacific region, Japan has provided financing for patrol vessels and coastal monitoring radar equipment to the agencies of the countries in the region. At the same time, Japan invites the personnel of such agencies to training programs in Japan, and also dispatches Japanese experts to those countries. In June 2017, when a joint exercise was undertaken in combating piracy by the Japan Coast Guard and the Philippines, in the vicinity of the Mindanao Islands, the patrol vessels provided by Japan which took part in the exercise yielded an immediate success in a piracy case that occurred the following day.

Japan has implemented a variety of projects and collaboration with its partners toward a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” and in 2018, progress was achieved in collaborating with various partner countries. A series of discussions have been held between Japan and the United States on how to collaborate in supporting the key countries in the region, and together, they released a list of Japan-U.S. cooperation at the Summit Meeting in September 2018. Also, Japan and India have agreed to deepen their concrete cooperation, beginning with further strengthening regional connectivity, and released a factsheet on Japan-India cooperation, upon Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan in October of the same year. This factsheet incorporated a variety of collaborations in strengthening connectivity through the development of quality infrastructure, and in fields such as energy. Furthermore, at the Japan-Mekong Summit Meeting in November of the same year, many collaborative projects in the Mekong region were identified as cooperation to promote a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” Japan has already agreed to strengthen cooperation with a variety of partners including Australia, the United Kingdom, France and the EU. Going forward, Japan will collaborate closely, and establish multi-layered cooperative relationships with those partners, and further accelerate efforts aimed at pursuing a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”