Scripting another Asian narrative  

Scripting another Asian narrative  

Context

Japan is filling the vacuum created by the U.S.’s withdrawal from the region

New world

Japan no longer believes that a wholescale reliance on the U.S. for a defence umbrella is sufficient to secure its best interests

• Foreign Minister Tarō Konō said in October: “We are in an era when Japan has to exert itself diplomatically by drawing a big strategic picture.”

What needs to be done by Japan?

What Tokyo needs to is to use its strengths, its capital, its technological know-how and its democratic credentials to win friends and influence countries across the region and beyond. It needs to beat China at its own game

Initiative by Japan: Countering China

• Leading TPP: With US backing out of TPP, Japan has become the principal driving force keeping the deal alive. At November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, Japan got the 11 countries still involved to agree on the “core elements” of a deal. It wants to lead rule-making on trade in the Asia Pacific, rather than let China set the agenda with alternatives to TPP such as the Beijing-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
• Aid & investment: Japan is stepping up aid and investment in Southeast Asia
  • A train line near Manila
  • A seaport in Cambodia
  • Assistance in the reconstruction of Marawi City in the Philippines. It has further committed 1 trillion yen ($8.7 billion) to the Philippines over the next five years, with a continued focus on infrastructure development.
  • As the top source of development aid to Vietnam, it has helped construct a new airport terminal in Hanoi as well as the first subway line in Ho Chi Minh City

Japanese investment in major Southeast Asian countries is estimated to have averaged $20 billion per year, from 2011 to 2016, more than double the average annual flows between 2006 and 2010

Looking to India

• Asia-Africa Growth Corridor: In order to counter the $900 billion Belt and Road initiative (BRI), Japan with cooperation with India have announced an Asia-Africa Growth Corridor, aimed at creating sea corridors linking the countries of the Indo-Pacific to Africa
  • Aim: The aim of the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is to develop infrastructure and digital connectivity in Africa through Indo-Japan collaboration
  • Based on 4 pillars: The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is to be based on four pillars:
    • Enhancing capacity and skills
    • Quality Infrastructure and Institutional Connectivity
    • Development and Cooperation Projects
    • People-to-People partnership
• High Speed Rail: Japan has bagged the $17 billion contract to build India’s first high speed railway line, linking Mumbai and Ahmedabad
• Tokyo is also investing in development projects in the Northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar islands
• Japan-India civil nuclear energy deal: Japan’s Diet gave the go ahead to a Japan-India civil nuclear energy deal earlier this year
• Defence cooperation: The possibility of purchasing Japanese submarines and search-and-rescue planes to help the Indian Navy is being discussed
• Cooperating with India on 3^rd country infra projects: Japan is cooperating with India in third country infrastructure projects such as Iran’s Chabahar Port, Sri Lanka’s Trincomalee port, and the possible joint development of the Dawei port along the Thai-Myanmar border

Creation of a Quad

A free and open Indo-Pacific, a phrasing that places India as a major actor in the Pacific, is an idea being promoted by Japan in conjunction with the U.S. This is a response to concerns over the expansion of the Chinese navy and Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, waters through which a huge majority of Japanese energy supplies transit

• It would be a grouping of 4 i.e. India, US, Japan & Australia

Conclusion

Tokyo wants to use the bilateral ties it is developing to create a multilateral architecture in the region.. However, without making genuine amendments for its past aggressions, Japan’s attempts to shape the future of the region will remain constrained