Japan's investment in Mindanao is credited with helping to prevent a full-scale war
As tit-for-tat clashes with Muslim rebels flare up in Mindanao, the anxious residents and the government in Manila are not the only ones watching nervously.
Japan is quietly investing millions of dollars in the region, part of projects which are credited with helping to stave off a full-blown guerilla war. Over the weekend, presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye cited the positive role that 'allies in the international community [have played] for actively participating in helping preserve peace in Mindanao'.
The situation is fragile - one soldier and 17 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members have died in the last two weeks, along with two civilians - but there is rare co-operation from both sides in pushing forward with foreign aid projects.
The region of Matanog in Maguindanao province was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting between rebels and soldiers in 2000. But today, residents of Matanog's Sapad village busy themselves with constructing 13 coconut-meat dryers, paid for by Japan, which are aimed at increasing local income.
The scheme is part of Japan's aid-driven peace effort, which is being employed in five other villages, at a total cost of US$624,000.