Japan welcomes Mekong leaders in jostle for influence

TOKYO: Japan is rolling out the red carpet this weekend for the leaders of the “Mekong Five” as it pushes infrastructure exports and courts influence in a region where rival China has an increasing presence.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet with his counterparts from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – fast-growing economies through which the lower section of the Mekong river flows – at the seventh annual “Japan- Mekong” summit in Tokyo on Saturday.

The morning meeting, which will be followed by a series of bilateral summits, will focus on developing “high-quality infrastructure partnerships” and adopting “new strategies for Japan-Mekong cooperation”” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Tokyo’s top spokesman, said this week.

Abe has doubled efforts to sell highways, train systems and power plants around the world, a key element in his bid to bolster the economy and Japan’s standing abroad.

“Japan has traditionally maintained favourable relations with the Mekong states and they remain important destinations for Japanese investment,” said Yoshinobu Yamamoto, professor at the University of Niigata Prefecture.

The meeting comes as the leading Nikkei business daily said yesterday that three Japanese companies had secured an order worth over 32 billion baht (RM3.6mil) to equip a railway linking Bangkok with nearby suburbs.

Under the plan, trading house Sumitomo will oversee the project while Hitachi will supply 130 train cars, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries providing signal systems and transformer facilities.

The Japanese government plans to offer loans to cover part of the cost, the newspaper said, a common sweetener that helps clients afford these kind of big-ticket projects.

Beijing’s growing financial muscle, as well as its increasing willingness to throw its diplomatic weight around, have quickened the need for Japan to step up its engagement in the battle for regional sway.

“The summit is part of Japan’s effort to maintain important ties at a time when China is expanding its influence in the region,” Yamamoto said. — AFP