Official Development Assistance (ODA) of Japan in the Twenty-First Century: Implications for Connectivity of ASEAN Region

Abstract

ASEAN region, embracing ten member states, namely, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, has become an economic community in the end of 2015, aimed at establishment of single market and production base. Rapidly growing economies inhabited by nearly 600 million of people with rising middle class have become an attractive destination for international business, however, intra-regional connectivity continues to be a challenge and the bottleneck of the region. The main objective of the paper is to indicate the role of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) of Japan in years 2001–2016 in terms of improving physical connectivity within ASEAN for the purposes of deepening integration, increasing stability and prosperity of the region, with special regard to projects financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).