Japan to boost support for East-West Economic Corridor project+

     TOKYO, July 20 Kyodo -
     Japan will step up support for the East-West Economic Corridor development project in Southeast Asia in a bid to check China's growing presence in the region, Foreign Ministry sources said Wednesday.
     Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto will declare Japan's intention when he meets his counterparts from five Mekong River basin countries -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam -- in Bali, Indonesia, on Thursday, the sources said.
     The development project is being promoted by four Southeast Asian countries -- Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam -- to build an arterial road of around 1,500 kilometers and accompanying infrastructure from the Indian Ocean coastal area of Myanmar to Da Nang, Vietnam, facing the South China Sea.
     Work on the project is yet to commence in Myanmar and there has been little progress on infrastructural improvements in the other countries. For the present, Japan will focus its financial support on the construction of bridges over the Mekong.
     Although Matsumoto will declare Japan's continuing support for the project even after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, he will refrain from disclosing the amount of additional spending, the sources said.
     China is expanding its presence through contributions to link the North-South Economic Corridor development project to the country.
==Kyodo
2011-07-21 00:33:05