During his recent visit to India, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida underlined the three pillars of the India-Japan bilateral: Shared values and spirit, a vibrant economy, and open and stable seas. Each of these are also key to maintaining regional peace and security
Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida recently paid a two-day visit to New Delhi. Following his re-appointment after the Japanese general election of December 2014, Mr Kishida chose India as the first destination for his official visit because he believed the relationship these two nations share is a special one.
Mr Kishida met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and also attended the eighth India-Japan strategic dialogue. This move to conduct regular dialogue stems from the fact that the Japan-India strategic cooperative partnership was, in 2014, elevated to that of a ‘special’ partnership. While these steps are set to continue to boost the momentum of Indo-Japanese bilateral relations, much progress is yet to be achieved. A large number of issues such as — the sale of the US2 amphibious aircraft and the long pending civil nuclear deal — still needs to be addressed.
This year is special for Japan as it marks the 70th Anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings of World War II. As the only nation to have suffered nuclear weapons, Japan holds peace and prosperity as a fundamental priority. India, a country that was under colonial rule, shares similar values and principles with Japan.
These two nations have thus been able to complement each other on issues related to the developments in the Indo-Pacific, permanent membership in the UN Security Council, terrorism, and the overall aim to shoulder more global responsibilities. The two leading Asian democracies have been successful to lay a solid foundation for the rapid development and advancement of the Indo-Pacific region.
Despite the progress made between India and Japan, there is still a need to deepen this relationship, as this will play a key role in shaping the future of this region. Power dynamics are changing rapidly, and the nations in this region are grappling to establish a stable security architecture. The region is also being characterised by territorial and sovereignty issues, as well as the rapid growth of economies. In the wake of these developments, the roles that Asia’s second and third largest economies can play in leading and guiding many of the smaller Asian nations are crucial.
Following the summit meeting between Prime Minister Modi, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September 2014, they met again in Brisbane in November 2014. They utilised this opportunity to reiterate their respective positions in both bilateral, as well as regional and global affairs. It was here, that Mr Abe emphasised the importance of strengthening the Japan-India-US trilateral cooperation. Dialogue between the three had previously been conducted only at the joint secretary level. Thus Mr Modi and Mr Abe were keen to elevate this dialogue to the Ministerial level.
At the eighth strategic dialogue held in New Delhi, Mr Kishida and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj agreed to hold a meeting at an earlier date this year that would allow the Foreign Ministers of India, Japan and the US to conduct talks. This positive move will contribute significantly to create stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Mr Kishida during this visit also proposed the need to strengthen the “three bridges,” that link the region. The first bridge being ‘values and spirit,’ the second is a ‘vibrant economy,’ and the third bridge is ‘open and stable seas.’ The first bridge which supports universal values, such as democracy, freedom, open economy and rule of law are openly endorsed by both nations. As free nations, both India and Japan have the ability to foster an order in the Indo-Pacific that supports these values.
With regards to the second bridge, both the nations have deeply connected economies. Under ‘Abenomics’ and ‘Modinomics,’ they have the ability to further improve economic growth, and generate vitality not only for each other, but also to the region as a whole. As discussed between Ms Swaraj and Mr Kishida, at the eighth strategic dialogue, Japan has agreed to continue to contribute to the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
India on its part has welcomed an increase of approximately 15 per cent in Japanese companies coming to India. While these efforts will continue, India should also encourage Japanese development initiatives in the North Eastern States of India to aid the regional connectivity between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Such connectivity will bolster India’s economic growth, and consolidate its position as the economic engine for the Indo-Pacific region.
As maritime nations, India and Japan are committed to maintaining freedom of navigation and commerce in open seas. Both the nations have a number of possibilities to ensure that peace and order is maintained in accordance with international law. To buttress his point Mr Kishida referred to Mr Abe’s “three principles of the rule of law at sea”— namely making and clarifying claims based on international law; settling disputes through peaceful mechanisms; and not using force or coercion in trying to drive claims.
In addition, Mr Kishida also made assurances that Japan will continue its efforts to participate in the India-US Malabar Naval exercises; work towards strengthening defence equipment cooperation including the US2 amphibious aircraft; and continue efforts to implement dialogue and combined exercises between Coast Guards.
For India, this is crucial for a number of reasons. First, the Indian Ocean has flourishing trade routes; ensuring the safety of these sea lanes is of primary importance. Second, India does not want to face a similar situation as witnessed in the East and South China Seas. Another step in the right direction is to take advantage of the deep trust that binds the two countries.
An important development that coincided with Mr Kishida’s visit to India was the exchange of notes on Japanese ODA loan for the public-private partnership infrastructure financing project. An amount of 50 billion yen, approximately Rs2,620 crore will be provided to the India Infrastructure Finance Company ltd to enable it to provide medium and long-term funding to infrastructure development in India. The importance of this loan cannot be overstated in view of the fact that funds flowing to infrastructure have been declining in recent years.
(KV Kesavan is a Distinguished Fellow and Ms Vindu Mai Chotani is a Research Assistant at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi)