Strategic foreign aid competition: Japanese and Chinese assistance in the Philippine infrastructure sector

• Main Author: Trinidad, Dennis D.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2019
• Subjects: Economic assistance, Japanese; Economic assistance, Chinese > Philippines; Infrastructure (Economics) > Philippines; International Relations
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/2646
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study examines the Sino-Japanese strategic foreign aid competition in the Philippine infrastructure sector. It argues that the practice of geoeconomics in East Asian affairs has intensified as a result of China's rise as a great-power competitor and the growing nexus of security and economics in the region. In order to make their foreign aids attractive, Japan has adopted a set of normative principles that are encapsulated in its “Quality Infrastructure” as a strategy, while China continues to emphasize the principles of Chinese aid and the adoption of the BRI. The article found, among other outcomes, that the existing maritime dispute between the Philippines and China affects the legitimacy and attractiveness of Chinese assistance. On the other hand, due to their deepening bilateral relation, Japan remains the Philippines's most important bilateral development partner. © 2020, Copyright © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.