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Summary:
This report analyzes annual budget justifications and legislation for foreign operations appropriations and discusses U.S. foreign aid trends, programs, and restrictions in 16 East Asian and South Asian countries. It does not cover aid to Pacific Island nations, North Korea, and Afghanistan. Country tables do not include assistance from U.S. State Department programs funded outside the foreign operations budget, such as educational and cultural exchange programs, and assistance from other departments and agencies. Since the war on terrorism began in 2001 and the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) and Global HIV/AIDS Initiative (GHAI) were launched in 2004, the United States has increased foreign aid spending dramatically in some regions, including East and South Asia. The United States has raised military, economic, and development assistance primarily for counterterrorism objectives in the East AsiaPacific (EAP) and South Asia regions, with Pakistan, India, the Philippines, and Indonesia receiving the bulk of the increases. In 2007, the Bush Administration restructured U.S. foreign aid programs to better serve the goal of transformational development, which places greater emphasis on U.S. security and democracy building as the chief goals of foreign aid. In the past decade, the United States government has restricted foreign assistance to many countries in East and South Asia in order to encourage democracy and respect for human rights. In response to the September 2006 military coup in Thailand, the Bush Administration suspended military and peacekeeping assistance pursuant to Section 508 of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act. The Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2008 (P.L. 110-161) placed human rights conditions upon portions of the U.S. military assistance grants to Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Some sanctions have been waived or lifted. Since 2003, President Bush has annually exercised the waiver authority on couprelated sanctions against Pakistan. In 2005, the United States government resumed full military assistance to Indonesia, based upon the satisfaction of legislative conditions and national security grounds. The FY2008 budget for the East Asian countries that are covered in this report represented a slight increase compared to FY2007. The FY2008 budget raised assistance to South Asian countries by 8%, according to estimates. The Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2008 made some changes to the Administration's proposed funding levels. These revisions included additional ESF for democracy and humanitarian activities in Burma; funding for democracy, rule of law, and Tibet programs in China as well as U.S.-China educational exchanges; and increased Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for the Philippines. The Administration's budget request for FY2009 includes dramatic increases in Development Assistance for the following countries: Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The FY2009 budget would cut Foreign Military Financing for the Philippines by 50% and bolster law enforcement (INCLE) funding to Nepal. This report will be updated to reflect new data.
