ODA Topics 2
Promoting Initiatives for the Realization of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”
Thailand’s Mass Transit System Red Line, which opened in August 2021 (Photo: JICA)
A patrol vessel provided to the Djibouti Coast Guard in October 2021
The Indo-Pacific region, which extends from the Asia-Pacific region through the Indian Ocean to the Middle East and Africa, is the core of vitality for the world that is home to half of the world’s population. To establish a free and open order based on the rule of law in this region, Japan advocated the concept of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)” in 2016 and promotes efforts to realize it. The vision is widely shared not only by the United States but also by Australia, India, ASEAN, and major European countries and is becoming increasingly important towards the post-COVID-19 era.
Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) is one of the most important instruments for such efforts to realize FOIP.
For example, under FOIP, it is aimed to promote economic prosperity by enhancing connectivity across this region. It intends to achieve the growth of the entire region by developing ports, airports, roads, railways, and other infrastructure within the area in line with international standards and connecting cities and hubs with one another. The Mass Transit System Project in Bangkok (Red Line) in Thailand, which was developed through Japan’s ODA loans and opened in August 2021, is one example of assistance for enhancing connectivity. This railway line, which connects the center of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, with Don Mueang Airport and the surrounding areas, will contribute to alleviating and improving the issues of traffic congestion and air pollution in the metropolitan region. The new Bang Sue Grand Station, constructed as a part of this project, becomes Thailand’s new symbolic terminal station for long-distance lines, and will be used for high-speed railway and conventional national railway lines in the future.
Japan’s assistance towards Djibouti in East Africa is also introduced here as an example of efforts for securing peace and stability. The areas off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, which Djibouti faces, are critically important sea lanes for Japan, with approximately 1,600 vessels related to Japan passing through these areas each year. However, piracy, armed robbery, illegal passage, illegal fishing, smuggling, and accidents occur frequently in the area. To address these issues, Japan has deployed anti-piracy operations by the Self-Defense Forces, as well as supported the Djibouti Coast Guard through ODA, including the provision of patrol vessels for maritime surveillance, capacity building in the operation and maintenance of vessels, and the establishment of Djibouti Coast Guard training frameworks.
With regard to the efforts to promote and consolidate the rule of law, to date, Japan has also provided assistance with the drafting of civil laws in China, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Nepal, and Laos through JICA technical cooperation. For Laos, Japan has consistently worked to support the development of the legal system over the course of approximately 20 years, and the country’s first civil code was enacted in 2020 as the culmination of assistance. Japan had invested considerable amounts of time in human resources development, which played a central role in the drafting of the civil code and continues to provide assistance in the country aimed at the utilization and dissemination of the civil code following its enactment.
The stability and prosperity of Japan and this region cannot be realized without a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” where various people, goods, and wisdom are actively exchanged, supported by highly transparent rules. Japan will make efforts to realize FOIP by utilizing various forms of assistance, including ODA.