The foreign buck: Aid-reliant investment strategies in ASEAN port development

This paper examines the general proposition that the port development process in ASEAN countries since the 1970s has been an aid-enhanced process; and it poses the problem of whether or not foreign aid means foreign assistance or foreign control. It notes the magnitude, sourcing and structure of aid and the role of the multilateral funding agencies, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. In addition, it describes the more recent strategy for port investment within a framework for resources and regional development-the so-called ‘Asahan formula’ in which the Japanese government its aid agencies, banks, transnational corporations, and technical experts promote economic cooperation. The general principles of this new strategy are outlined in a brief case of port development in South-eastern Thailand.