As Narendra Modi reached Kyoto, Abe himself flew down there to receive him. The Japanese media termed that gesture ‘unusual’ as their Prime Minister rarely greeted a foreign guest outside Tokyo
The recently concluded bilateral summit between Indian PM Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe reflected the two countries’ growing convergence of interest on issues pertaining to bilateral, regional as well as international arena. The very fact that Modi chose Japan as his first destination for bilateral visit outside the Indian subcontinent indicated the Government’s intention to make ties with Japan the heart of India’s look East policy.
The strong euphoria at home over Modi’s recent Japan visit can be largely attributed to a number of factors. First, as mentioned earlier, it was his first bilateral visit outside the immediate neighbourhood since assuming office in May this year, which clearly underlined Japan’s growing significance in India’s foreign as well as economic policies. Second, given the close personal rapport between Modi and Abe, some path-breaking agreements (including the civil nuclear deal) seemed to be on the cards. Modi’s own optimism was evident as he averred that the trip could “write a new chapter in the annals of the relations between Asia’s two oldest democracies.” Third, a successful Japan trip has ended the Modi Government’s first hundred days in office on a positive note. last but not the least, the outcome of the Tokyo summit may impact Chinese President Xi’s Jinping’s upcoming visit to India later this month.
If the grand hospitality received by Modi during the visit was anything to go by, anticipation was running high in Japan as well. As Modi, in the first leg of his visit, reached historic city of Kyoto on August 30, Abe himself flew down there to receive him. The Japanese media termed that gesture ‘unusual’ as the Prime Minister rarely greeted a foreign guest outside Tokyo.
The main thrust of Modi’s visit was to bolster the already existing bilateral security and economic ties, open up new avenues for bilateral cooperation and to take the existing strategic and global partnership to a higher level. The joint declaration signed in Tokyo on September 1 elevated the bilateral relationship to “Special Strategic and Global Partnership”. The addition of the term “special” signified Tokyo summit’s emphasis on enhancing Japan’s role in India’s economic development, intensifying the bilateral political dialogue and giving a new thrust and direction to the defence cooperation. Surprisingly, despite both the countries’ growing concern over China’s military assertiveness, they abstained from mentioning the “China threat” in the Tokyo Declaration.
The summit was lauded by both the leaders as “the dawn of a new era in India-Japan Relations”, as it took the bilateral ties to a new level. Five agreements were signed on areas such as defence cooperation, health, infrastructure, women empowerment, etc. As far as defence cooperation is concerned, a Memorandum of Cooperation and Exchange in the Field of Defence was signed. Both sides emphasised on promoting bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the maritime domain and agreed to conduct the joint exercise between the coast guards of the two countries off the coast of Haneda in October this year.
Moreover. they directed the Joint Working Group to accelerate the process towards the development of the Indian aircraft industry through Japanese MSDF’s US-2 amphibian aircraft cooperation, including the transfer of aircraft and its technology to India. Unfortunately the “two plus two” strategic framework involving foreign and defence ministers of the two countries could not be realised. Instead it was agreed to explore ways to strengthen the future talks of the existing “two plus two” vice-ministerial framework. The joint declaration also insisted on closer bilateral consultation and coordination within the regional forums (e.g., EAS, RCEP, etc) in order to address regional challenges, deepen regional cooperation and integration.
In the economic front, Abe expressed his intention to extend 3.5 trillion yen (Rs2.1 lakh crore) of public and private investment and financing to India over the next five years. This amount is to be invested on a number of projects, including next generation infrastructure, transportation, rejuvenation of the Ganga and other rivers, manufacturing, clear energy, development of “smart cities” like Kyoto across India, water security, rural development, etc. It was also agreed to double Japan’s private direct investment in India and the number of Japanese companies operating in India over the next five years. To boost Japanese investment, Modi announced his intention to introduce special mechanisms like Japan Fast Track Channel for Japanese investors in India. On infrastructure, Japan agreed to provide financial, technical and operational support in introducing Shinkansen-style high speed railway system in India.
As for science and technology cooperation, both India and Japan agreed to enhance cooperation in the cutting-edge fields including stem cell research, computing and information science, ocean technology, clean and renewable energy, water technology, climate change, outer space, information and communication technology, etc. On rare earth minerals too, both sides agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation. Unfortunately, the much awaited civil nuclear deal remained elusive.
In the joint declaration, three new areas of cooperation were identified: enhancement of regional connectivity between India’s north-east region and the neighbouring countries, the renewal of heritage cities in India and greater cooperation in Africa. India has been particularly appreciative of Japan’s effort in enhancing infrastructure development, forest resource management, etc. in the Northeast. The two countries have also signed a document to promote partnership city arrangement between the heritage cities of Varanasi and Kyoto. As for Africa, both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation, especially in promoting business activities by their investors in that region.
Overall Modi’s Japan trip was largely successful in opening up new avenues through which the two countries could harness the full potential of their bilateral ties. However factors like lack of adequate incentive, poor infrastructure, red tape, sluggish implementation of economic rules and regulations, etc, continue to restrain the Japanese investors from deepening their engagement with India. Although by promising red carpet for Japanese firms in India, Modi succeeded in raised hopes in the Japanese business circle, only time will tell whether or not he could deliver on those promises. Meanwhile the declining trend in India-Japan bilateral trade (it declined from $18.43 billion in 2012 to $16.31 billion in 2013) and India’s adverse balance of trade with Japan have emerged as major issues of concern in India. Modi needs to take some concrete action in dealing with those challenges. Keeping in mind the boundless possibilities of bilateral cooperation, both the countries need to focus on making the relationship more comprehensive. After all, as Modi himself said, “a successful India and a successful Japan will be of benefit to both the counties.”
(The writer is a researcher at Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. She can be reached at pranamita.baruah@ gmail.com)