Japan, China compete for Influence in Thailand By Wichit Chaitrong*

Posted by AsiaViews | Oct 9, 2017 | 0 |

The Nation

Sept 25, 2017

Tokyo’s huge trade mission to Bangkok highlights contest for economic weight.

A recent massive Japanese trade mission to Thailand involving 570 investors and a senior cabinet minister has left many in Thailand wondering why Japanese businesspeople are so keen on investment opportunities in Thailand.

The trade mission, led by Hiroshige Seko, head of the Japanese Ministry for the Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), included a close look at Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

Japanese journalists who accompanied the trade mission often asked questions about whether Chinese investors would overtake Japanese investment in Thailand.

The questions indicated that Japanese investors were concerned about losing its pre-eminent role in foreign direct investment (FDI) in Thailand.

There are alarming signs as China has aggressively promoted its One Belt, One Road initiative, which would connect China more closely to overseas markets. China has secured major agreements for investment in high-speed rail in Laos, Thailand and Indonesia.

China is obviously making an aggressive move into Asean. Among Chinese investors, Jack Ma, founder of giant online trading platform Alibaba, is making the Chinese influence felt around the world and the company has expressed its intent to invest in the EEC.

China has moved aggressively as the United States, the world largest economy, has threatened to impose trade restrictions on products made in the country.

The Chinese government has also made it easier for state enterprises and private investors to increase investment abroad as part of its strategy to counter the US move and to create its own sphere of influence.

In contrast, Japanese investors have not yet made a big splash to match multi-billion-baht high-speed rail lines and the activities of Alibaba.

Yet the METI trade mission suggested Japan has moved to counter and compete with China’s actions. Seko sent a strong message about “connected industries”, an initiative of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Japan is upgrading its production base around the world by introducing automation, robotics and the Internet of Things to manufacturing.

Japan is still the largest foreign investor in Thailand, accounting for 36.2 per cent of total FDI by year-end 2016, followed by Singapore and the EU representing 14.8 and 14.3 per cent respectively, according to Bank of Thailand data.

“While Japanese investors remain on top, Chinese investors are increasing,” said Hirunya Suchinai, secretary-general of the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI).

Hiroyuki Ishige, chairman and CEO of Japan External Trade Organisation, said a recent investment survey had found that 53.6 per cent of Japanese investors thought the EEC was strategically important and 78.6 per cent said investment incentives for EEC projects were effective.

Chinese and Japanese direct investment would make generally EEC investment more attractive.

Saowaruj Rattanakhamfu, a researcher at Thailand Development Research Institute, said she was optimistic. She said the EEC was attractive because the government would build infrastructure projects, airports, seaports, high-speed rail and motorways to bridge Thailand with other countries in the region.

“The hard part may be the soft infrastructure – how the government can effectively deliver one-stop services for investors. How the Food and Drug Administration can speed up its approval process for licensing requested by investors,” she said.

The government will submit the EEC bill to the National legislative Assembly this week following Cabinet approval last week, bringing the EEC a step closer to implementation after delays.

Critics, however, have questioned the huge tax privileges offered by the BOI. Padma Gehl Sampath, an economist at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, has argued that the excessive tax privileges could affect government revenues.

Other questions also remain. Some Japanese investors have worried about a shortage of skilled labor, while Ishige has also pointed to the downward trend of Japanese automotive investments in Thailand, with new investment instead going to Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia.

According to the BOI, foreign investors have applied for investment privileges in Thailand totalling Bt119 billion in the first half of this year, up 5 per cent from the same period last year. Japanese investors ranked first with plans worth Bt65.4 billion, followed by Singapore and China with Bt15.3 billion and Bt7.1 billion respectively. (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/business/30327556 )

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

Japan, China compete for Influence in Thailand By Wichit Chaitrong*