Japan pledges $410 mn to Pacific Islands

[Ulhas Joglekar <joglekarulhas@xxxxxxxx>]

NDTV.com
http://www.ndtv.com/homepage/default.asp

Japan pledges $410 mn to Pacific Islands
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Japan+pledges+%24410+mn+to+Pacific+Islands&id=88422

Saturday, May 27, 2006 (Nago):

Japan pledged 45 billion yen ($410 million) in aid to Pacific Island nations
on Saturday.

The package will be disbursed over the next three years and fund development
of infrastructure, health care, education and tsunami countermeasures,
Foreign Ministry official Toshihisa Takata said.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced the aid today before closing a
two-day summit of regional leaders on the southern Japanese island of
Okinawa.

Many see this as a growing battle of dollar diplomacy against China to hold
sway over the region.

The aid comes a month after Beijing offered a similar package and is seen as
a way of blunting growing Chinese influence in an area Japan considers its
own backyard.

Koizumi is counting on Pacific Islands to back Japan's so-far stymied push
for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, a campaign opposed by
China. (AP)