JAPAN: Aid boost to benefit Mekong nations
Updated
Japan has announced a new aid package earmarked for dramatically improving infrastructure in Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam. Japan's foreign minister, Masahiko Komura, says much of the extra money will help build new highways. But human rights groups have urged Japan to use the aid package as leverage, to put more pressure on Mekong states to improve their human rights records.
Presenter: Girish Sawlani
Speakers: Dr Adam McCarty, chief economist, Mekong Economics; Professor Dean Forbes, vice chancellor (international), Flinders University; Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director, Human Rights Watch
