アジア投資銀 過剰な中国主導で大丈夫か

The Yomiuri Shimbun
What does China’s plan for a new infrastructure bank portend for Asia?
アジア投資銀　過剰な中国主導で大丈夫か

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a new international financial organization led by China, will be established in 2015 based on a basic agreement reached recently by 21 nations, including India and nine Southeast Asian nations.
The establishment of the AIIB has been proposed by China to accelerate infrastructure building in Asia.
　中国の主導する新たな国際金融機関「アジアインフラ投資銀行」（ＡＩＩＢ）が、設立されることになった。
　アジアのインフラ整備促進を目的に掲げ、中国が創設を提唱していた。インドや東南アジアの９か国など２１か国が、２０１５年中の発足で基本合意した。

Demand for investment to build infrastructure, such as railways and roads, in Asia through the end of 2020 will total an estimated $8 trillion, or about ¥860 trillion.
　アジアでは２０年までに、鉄道や道路などのインフラ投資の需要が、総額８兆ドル（約８６０兆円）に上るとの試算もある。

It is true that the existing international financial organizations, including the Asian Development Bank, will face difficulty in shouldering such a huge cost by themselves.
　アジア開発銀行（ＡＤＢ）など既存の国際金融機関だけで、これほどの巨費を賄うのが難しいのも事実である。

Emerging Asian economies, which want to use infrastructure development as a locomotive for growth, understandably have high expectations for the AIIB.
　インフラ開発を成長の原動力としたいアジア新興国が、ＡＩＩＢに期待するのは理解できる。

Japan, however, will not participate in the AIIB because its significance and management policy are not clear. Australia and South Korea are also conspicuously absent.
　一方、日本は参加を見送った。ＡＩＩＢの意義や、今後の運営方針が不透明だからだ。オーストラリアや韓国も不参加だった。

In July, China also decided to set up a new development bank in collaboration with the other emerging economies in the so-called BRICS grouping, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
　中国は今年７月、ロシアやインドなどと協力し、新興５か国（ＢＲＩＣＳ）による「新開発銀行」を創設することも決めた。

China apparently wants to use the AIIB and the BRICS bank to counter Japan, the United States and European countries that lead the International Monetary Fund regime and establish a new order in international financing.
　どちらも、国際通貨基金（ＩＭＦ）体制を主導する日米欧に対抗し、新たな国際金融秩序を構築する思惑があるようだ。

A bank for China’s benefit?

In particular, the AIIB is aimed at providing China’s domestically struggling state-owned enterprises with opportunities to enter the huge market for building infrastructure in Asia. Furthermore, China apparently has a strategy to increase the number of friendly nations by utilizing its foreign currency reserves, now swollen to as much as $4 trillion.
　特にＡＩＩＢは、中国国内で行き詰まる国有企業に、アジアのインフラ整備という巨大な市場を提供する狙いがあるのだろう。
　４兆ドルに膨らんだ外貨準備を有効活用し、「中国シンパ」の国を増やす戦略もうかがえる。

It is also worrisome that China’s influence over the AIIB will likely be overwhelming.
　気がかりなのは、ＡＩＩＢに対する中国の影響力が、突出して強くなりそうなことである。

The bank will be headquartered in Beijing and aims to procure $100 billion in capital. The ratio of investment will likely be decided in accordance with the scale of each economy, which will make China a majority stakeholder.
　北京に本部を置き、資本金は１０００億ドルを目指す。出資比率は経済規模に応じて決める方針で、中国が過半を占める見通しだ。

There are nagging concerns that the AIIB will recklessly provide tied loans — such as requiring Chinese companies to win infrastructure contracts — in the guise of an international financial institution and will put priority on development projects that are beneficial to China. If its loan screening becomes lax, it is feared that development projects neglecting environmental and human rights concerns will be encouraged.
　国際機関の名の下で、中国企業の受注を条件とする「ひも付き」の融資が乱発され、中国を利する開発案件ばかりが優先されることはないか。融資審査が甘くなれば、環境や人権を無視した開発を助長する恐れもある。

A financial support framework that is excessively dependent on China could stall development projects should the Chinese economy stumble.
　中国に過度に依存した金融支援の枠組みでは、中国経済が変調をきたした際に、開発プロジェクトが滞るリスクも大きくなる。

It is essential for Japan, the United States and other nations to jointly beef up monitoring to see if the AIIB will be operated in a way to contribute to the healthy development of the Asian region.
　アジア地域の健全な発展に資する運営が行われているか、日米などが連携して、監視を強めることが重要だ。

Nonetheless, we should take heed of the use of China’s ample funds for Asian growth. Japan, the biggest ADB stakeholder, should work to establish a proper complementary relationship between the ADB and AIIB.
　潤沢な中国マネーを、アジアの成長に生かす視点も忘れてはならない。ＡＤＢの最大の出資国である日本は、ＡＤＢとＡＩＩＢが適切な補完関係を築けるよう、働きかけるべきである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 29, 2014)Speech

「イスラム国」 過激派の勧誘に惑わされるな

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Don’t be fooled by Islamic State propaganda; united front needed
「イスラム国」　過激派の勧誘に惑わされるな

Propaganda by extremist groups justifying terrorism could generate new terrorist outrages in industrially advanced countries.
　テロを正当化する過激派の宣伝が、先進国で新たなテロを生む。

This vicious circle must be severed.
　この悪循環を断ち切らねばならない。

A Muslim convert, who planned to go to the Middle East, was shot dead by Canada’s parliamentary sergeant at arms after the man killed a soldier and then went on a shooting spree inside the parliament building in Ottawa.
　カナダの首都オタワで中東行きを計画していたイスラム教徒の男が、兵士１人を射殺した後、国会議事堂内で銃を乱射した。男は衛視に射殺された。

Near Montreal, soldiers were killed and injured recently in what appeared to be a terrorist attack, while in New York, a man attacked police officers with a hatchet.
　モントリオール郊外や米ニューヨークでも、男が兵士や警官を殺傷する事件が起きた。

In both incidents, the perpetrators were known to be sympathizers of Islamic extremism. The New York attacker had reportedly watched the site of the extremist group Islamic State.
　いずれの事件の犯人も、イスラム過激主義に共鳴していたことが分かっている。ニューヨークの事件の犯人は、過激派組織「イスラム国」のサイトを見ていた。

It is obvious that the radical beliefs of the Islamic State, which is expanding its influence in Iraq and Syria, lie behind the recent spate of attacks.
　イラク、シリア領内で勢力を拡大するイスラム国の過激思想が、一連の事件の背景にある可能性は否定できまい。

Young people from a number of countries have joined the Islamic State as combatants. Advanced countries were alert to the possibility of those fighters launching terrorist attacks when they return to their home countries.
　イスラム国には、各国の若者が戦闘員として加わっている。先進諸国は、戦闘員が帰国してテロを起こす事態を警戒していた。

Yet there has been no indication that any of the perpetrators of the recent attacks was a combatant who had returned home. Nevertheless, these incidents pose a new threat as they can be considered “home-grown” terrorism in advanced countries.
　だが、今のところ、一連の事件の犯人が戦闘員だった形跡はない。先進国における“国産テロ”と言えよう。新たな脅威だ。

The recent spate of incidents is also characterized by the fact that they were each carried out by a person acting alone.
　単独犯であることも特徴だ。

As there appears to be no conspiracy with similar-minded people, investigative authorities have great difficulty in detecting such acts of violence in advance, presenting them with a huge challenge.
仲間との謀議などがないため、捜査当局にとっては、事前の察知が難しい点が大きな問題だろう。

Even Japanese affected

In Japan, a male university student is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of planning to privately engage in military combat by attempting to go to Syria to join the Islamic State as a foreign combatant.
　日本では、イスラム国に外国人戦闘員として加わる目的で、シリアへの渡航を企てたとして、男子大学生が私戦予備・陰謀容疑で警視庁の捜索を受けている。

The student allegedly received assistance on travel to Syria and converted to Islam at the advice of a former university professor, who specializes in Islamic law.
　男子学生は、イスラム法学が専門の元大学教授から渡航方法の助言を受け、イスラム教に入信した。

The student reportedly said: “I want to die as I’ve been fed up with this world. I wouldn’t mind being killed in Syria.” Another man, who was living with the student, was reportedly planning to go to Syria with him.
「この世界が嫌で死にたい。シリアで殺されてもいい」と語っているという。一緒に住んでいた男性も同行予定だったとされる。

Is the clever propaganda that justifies rule by the Islamic State affecting the minds of those who feel alienated in their home country?
　イスラム法による支配を正当化する巧みな誘いが、疎外感を抱く者の心に付け入っているのか。

The Islamic State is a heinous organization that justifies mass murder and slavery. In this year alone, it has received about ¥2.2 billion in ransom money for hostages. Before U.S. warplanes bombed oil refineries operated by the Islamic State in September, the group was said to be earning about ¥100 million a day through the illicit trade of crude oil.
　イスラム国は、大量殺りくや奴隷制を肯定する凶悪組織だ。今年に入り、人質の身代金で約２２億円を手にした。米国が９月に製油施設を空爆するまでは、原油の密売で１日約１億円を得ていた。

Supported by unprecedented funding, the terrorist organization is believed to be carrying out an extensive propaganda campaign. It is important for nations to expose the true nature of the Islamic State through such tools as the Internet.
　テロ組織としては類のない資金力を背景に、大がかりな宣伝戦を仕掛けているのだろう。各国は、イスラム国の真の姿をネットなどで広く知らせる必要がある。

Needless to say, the most important thing is to annihilate the Islamic State. The U.S.-led coalition has conducted more than 550 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. But the fighting is said to be fluctuating, with combatants sometimes advancing and sometimes retreating.
　無論、最も重要なのは、イスラム国の壊滅だ。米国などの有志連合は、イラク、シリア領内で５５０回以上の空爆を行ってきたが、戦闘は一進一退の状態にある。

There also is disarray in the coalition over strategy. It is essential to restore a united front against the Islamic State.
　有志連合には、戦術面で足並みの乱れもある。共闘態勢を立て直すことが急務である。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 28, 2014)Speech