英字ニュースで読むアジア情勢〜アジアをつなぐTrans-Asian Highway〜

アジアの経済統合は、ゆっくりながらも、着々と進んでいる、そんな印象を与えてくれる記事を目にしました。

"Trans-Asian Highway gains traction," Asian Times (22 Apr. 2006)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/HD22Ae01.html

"Though still incomplete, the Trans-Asia Highway, conceived last year by Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries and supported financially by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is already proving its economic value and capacity to dramatically transform the region.

Due to be completed in 2008, the East-West, North-South, and Southern corridors will link different parts of Vietnam to Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. The 1,500 kilometer-long East-West corridor will cut across mainland Southeast Asia, linking Vietnam's central seaport of Danang with the Andaman Sea in Myanmar. A Trans-Asian Railway network is also in the works."

世界各地でRegionalismが進む中、東アジアでもついに、国境越えの交通網が整備されることになりました。これによって、東アジア各国がより親密な経済関係を築き、個々の経済発展に貢献できるだけでなく、地域全体の国際競争力の強化と発展にもつながって行くのではないかと期待されています。

"The participating countries hope that the network of highways will increase trade and travel among themselves and with other regional countries, while enhancing the region's overall global competitiveness at a time when China is still consuming the lion's share of foreign direct investment."

すでに、この東南アジアをつなぐ壮大なプロジェクトは、高い経済効果をASEAN諸国にもたらしつつあるようです。

"The Hai Van Tunnel, a project on Vietnam's national Highway 1 linking the East-West corridor with the central seaport of Danang, was recently completed, cutting travel times between [Vietnam and Laos] immensely. Turner said that about five years ago, his travel from Vietnam's central city of Hue to Savannakhet in southern Laos was difficult and took a whole day.

With the recent infrastructure improvements, he could have breakfast in Hue, lunch in Savannakhet and dinner in Khon Khaen in Thailand. "After only a few short years, not only is the road infrastructure largely in place, but much new investment has been made along the corridor.''

For instance, several travel agencies in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand have already taken the opportunity to launch short bus trips allowing regional tourists to tour major cities of the three countries. Vietnamese newspapers report that on a single day as many as 500 international tourists enter Vietnam via the new East-West highway.

Better transport infrastructure continues to attract new investors to Vietnam's Lao Bao Border Economic Zone, which is benefiting from a new cross border transport agreement with their Lao counterparts in Dansavanh. Copper exports from the Lao Sepon mine have commenced, and the ore is already being transported to markets using the East-West highway."

２００８年と言えば、ちょうど北京でオリンピックが開催される年で、中国への注目がピークを迎える年でもあるます。おそらく、今回のTrans-Asian Highwayの建設は、そんな中国の影響力に対抗するために講じられた策であるだけでなく、中国の発展の恩恵をもっと受けるための作戦でもあるのではないでしょうか。いずれにしても、アジアでこうした経済統合に向けた動きがあるのは、とても歓迎すべきことだと思います。

Trans-Asian Highway will bring everyone good business opportunities. As the article points out, the beneficiaries are not limited to people and companies in the region. I expect that even we, Japanese, will be able to access the region more easily. 地図を買って勉強せねばと思います。今、100円世界地図しかないので。

丸一日掛かっていた行程が道路建設によって、朝・昼・晩をベトナム・ラオス・タイで過ごせるなんて、すごい発展ですよね。それぞれの国自体が小さいから・・・協力し合えば予定通り行きそうですね。アジア諸国の発展も目ざましいものがあります。

Bongさん、I, too, believe that the new transportation network across Asia will ease the cross-border movement of people and goods, as well as money that accompany them. I really want to cross Asia not by air, but on the groud, to India someday...it just sounds so magnificent!

ウーパーさん、ヨーロッパでもそうなんですが、小国は力を合わせることで、自らの発展の道を見出さなければならないんですよね。予定通りに行ってほしいですね。