Teaming up with Tokyo

Teaming up with Tokyo

Article:

1. Abhijit Singh, a Senior Fellow and Head, Maritime Policy has discussed about the security and connectivity dimensions between India and Japan.

Important Analysis:

2. Strategic community in India have high hopes with Indian PM visit to Tokyo later in this month.
3. Modi has made India-Japan relations a key priority area of his foreign policy. Fortunately, Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe is also keen for closer relationship with India.
4. For Japan, India is the pivotal state in the Indian Ocean.
5. Japan is focusing attention on two critical areas

• Maritime security
• Strategic connectivity.

6. In the security front, Japan is keen to strengthen the trilateral Malabar exercises with India and the U.S and on strategic front Japanese Navy deployed a maritime surveillance aircraft and a submarine in Asia’s sensitive Littoral.
7. Strategic Connectivity between India and Japan:

• Kaga – state-of-the-art helicopter carrier destroyer is in Visakhapatnam for the Japan-India Maritime Exercises.
• Tokyo also interested in military exchanges with India also include Army and Air Force exchanges.
• Joint collaboration in unmanned armored vehicles and robotic systems is also a work in progress.
• Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement is work in progress.
• Tokyo and New Delhi have been working together on infrastructure projects in the Northeast.
• They are also building the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor, whose four pillars — developmental projects, quality infrastructure, capacity building, and people-to-people partnership — make it an effective counterpoint to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

8. What makes Japan reliable partner:

• Japanese infrastructure initiatives are environmentally friendly and financially sustainable
• Japan lays particular stress on asset’s life cycle costs and resilience.
• Transparency has generated enormous trust with India.
• Modi’s Act-East outreach fits well with Mr. Abe’s vision for a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’. Both countries want a regional order based on rules.

9. Despite both India and Japan sharing common interests there are some concern such as:

• Neither country is showing hostile attitude towards China. While Tokyo is willing to work with Beijing on overseas infrastructure projects, New Delhi has expressed reservations about its ‘Quadrilateral’ partners (the U.S., Japan and Australia) resorting to China-containment tactics.
• Though, both India and Japan have stepped up their defense engagement to deter China’s aggression in their strategic water.
• Lack of alignment of strategic interests and ambitions. Despite repeated attempts, talks for the sale of the US-2i amphibious aircraft have been deadlocked over issues of price and technology transfer
• Moreover, Japan’s unwillingness to let India license produce the US-2i.

10. Policymakers acknowledge that the partnership between India and Japan is increasingly vital for the security of littoral Asia and in the wake of growing challenges in the maritime domain, striking a deal on the US-2i would be a good start point.