The three countries followed Britain’s lead in accepting membership of the Chinese-led new bank, with Luxembourg also consenting to the proposal.
The move comes as a diplomatic setback to the US as the new Chinese bank is seen as a rival to the Western-dominated institutions like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
The $50bn AIIB was launched in Beijing in 2014 to support investment in Asia in transportation, energy, telecommunications and other infrastructure sectors.
As cited in The Guardian, China says till now 26 countries have joined, mostly from Asia and the Middle East, with the country planning to finalise the articles of agreement by the end of the year. Countries have until 31 March to decide.
There is no word of Japan, Australia and South Korea’s participation, though Australia has indicated its willingness and China’s state-owned Xinhua news agency said Switzerland is also considering joining.
Reacting to the news, Washington said that individual governments are free to make decisions; however, it has questioned the governance standards of AIIB and urged countries to "think twice."
US regional assistant secretary of state Daniel Russel said in Seoul: "Our messaging to the Chinese consistently has been to welcome investment in infrastructure but to seek unmistakable evidence that this bank … takes as its starting point the high watermark of what other multilateral development banks have done in terms of governance."
The willingness of the European countries reflects their curiosity to partner with China’s economy and comes in the middle of prickly trade negotiations that are taking place between Brussels and Washington.
A reform of voting rights has also been held up by the US Congress in the International Monetary Fund, which is expected to give China and other emerging powers more say in global economic governance, frustrating the EU and Asian governments.
Image: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is touted as a rival to the World Bank. Photo: courtesy of Keattikorn/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
