Japan lavished ?45 billion (US$410 million) in fresh aid to Pacific Island nations at a leaders' summit yesterday and walked away with unified support for Tokyo's bid to join the UN Security Council.
The offer marks a big jump in Japanese aid in what some see as a growing battle of dollar diplomacy with China to hold sway over the region. China, which opposes Japan's UN aspirations, last month offered millions of dollars in aid to its Pacific allies.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced the package yesterday at the end of a two-day meeting of Pacific leaders in Okinawa, winning dearly needed backing for Japan's beleaguered push for a Security Council seat.
"We in the Pacific have given our support to Japan," said Michael Somare, prime minister of Papua New Guinea and co-chair of the Pacific Island summit. "Japan has made a substantial contribution, not only in the region, but in international communities."
Friendships with the far-flung and impoverished Pacific states are an easy way for governments to win backing at international venues like the UN. The countries have tiny populations, meaning relatively small amounts of aid can go far, but they still wield one vote, the same as larger countries.
Together, the Pacific Island nations attending the Okinawa summit comprise only a fraction of the world's population but hold 14 UN votes, or about 7 percent of the total.
Environmentalists meanwhile accuse Japan of using Pacific aid to buy pro-whaling votes at the International Whaling Commission, a charge Japan denies.
"The Foreign Ministry has been very keen on using aid strategically," said political analyst Shigenori Okazaki. "Each of these countries has one vote."
Japan says its aid is about creating a more stable and prosperous region, not about jousting with China, a country that only recently got into the overseas aid business.
Koizumi said he welcomed China's development help to the region.
"I would not take that as a threat," Koizumi said. "If China and other countries wish to provide assistance and can provide assistance to various developing countries, fine. Please do so by all means."
Somare echoed the sentiment that Japan's aid had nothing to do with China.
"I don't think it should be seen as competing for influence in the region," he said. "I think Pacific Island people are capable of making their own decisions."
Just last month, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) jetted to the South Pacific and pledged 3 billion yuan (US$374 million) in aid to countries such as Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. The aid targeted mining, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aviation.
China has typically used the aid to win support for Beijing over Taiwan. But China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is also trying to block momentum for a seat for Tokyo, saying Japan has not properly atoned for its militaristic past.
Koizumi called Japan's aid package and the island nations' backing in the Security Council spat "an important milestone for Japan's foreign policy."
The aid will target education, economic development, health care, environmental protection and disaster mitigation projects, like early warning systems for tsunamis. It will also fund the training of thousands of civil servants.
The leaders also discussed recent unrest in the Solomon Islands and agreed to cooperate on fostering good governance in the region, while cracking down on international crime and terrorism.
Japan said it would divvy the aid among the countries according to needs and based upon the review of project proposals.
Japan has hosted the Pacific Islands four times since 1997, but Tokyo announced no new aid packages at the last summit in 2003.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS