Japan willing to include Myanmar in

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Subject: Japan willing to include Myanmar in Miyazawa plan

Japan willing to include Myanmar in Miyazawa plan

Wed 09 Dec 98 - 09:00 GMT

BANGKOK, Dec 9 (AFP) - Japan would be willing to channel to Myanmar some of
the 30 billion dollars in aid pledged to Asia by Finance Minister Kiichi
Miyazawa, a Japanese government spokesman said Wednesday.

Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Masaki Okada, on a whirlwind tour of
ASEAN nations ahead of next week's Hanoi summit, said Japan would be
receptive to an application for funds from Myanmar's junta.

"We haven't had any interest from them. If they are interested then we are
ready to cooperate," he told reporters here.

The statement appeared to contradict Japanese foreign minister Masahiko
Komura's September pledge to US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that
Tokyo would not resume aid to Myanmar.

Japan suspended all but a small amount of humanitarian aid to the
military-run state in the late 1980s but agreed in February to help finance
reconstruction of
the airport in Yangon, Myanmar's capital.

The United States has imposed broad sanctions since the ruling junta crushed
a pro-democracy movement and seized power in 1988. In 1997, Washington
banned new investment in the country.

Okada said although Japan would have to consult with the US were it to use
funds from the five billion dollar joint initiative announced at
Asia-Pacific Cooperation forum in November, the Miyazawa cash could be
allocated unilaterally.

"In the interpretation of that joint initiative, we cannot undertake (it)
unilaterally, we always have to consult with the United States," he said.

"We can also undertake our own unilateral cooperation in the future," the
envoy added. "We are not only tied to that bilateral cooperation with the
United States."

Okada said it was hard to tell how badly affected Myanmar was by the
region-wide economic and financial crisis, but that the junta would have to
meet the same application criteria as other Asian nations.

He said the funds would need to be used in supporting corporate debt
restructuring, efforts to make the financial system "sound and stable," to
stimulate the economy and provide social safety net schemes.

"These are the areas we think we can support (Asia) with the Miyazawa
initiative," Okada said.

Japan's Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa in October announced a 30 billion
dollar loan facility to help Asian nations along the road to recovery.

Japan originally envisaged the funds going to five Association of Southeast
Asian Nations namely Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and
South
Korea, Okada said.

"But we do not intend to limit the recipients to those five countries ...
the door is open to other countries."

"We know that Vietnam is interested and we also heard that Laos is
interested," he added.

"We explained to them that if they are interested in our Miyazawa plan then
please give us some concrete ideas, concrete projects to finance from our
initiative,"

)AFP 1998