The Rising Sun In India-Japan

Context: Analysing the scope and potential of India-Japan ties in the background of new dynamism of global politics and closeness of US-Japan relations.

Background: With the wider discussion between the US and Japan over the issues concerning Indo-Pacific following key concerns have been highlighted –

• Checking China’s territorial disputes: in the South and East China Seas as well as in the Taiwan Strait, including the key flashpoints like Senkaku islands.
  • US-Japan acknowledged the importance of extended deterrence vis-à-vis China through cooperation on cybersecurity and space technology.
• China’s dominance in new-age technologies: such as 5G and quantum computing, given China’s recent pledge to invest a mammoth $1.4 trillion in emerging technologies.
  • US and Japan have announced a Competitiveness and Resilience Partnership, or CoRe, to tackle the technological challenge
  • Policy pressure has been put on China to reform economic practices - such as “violations of intellectual property rights, forced technology transfer, excess capacity issues, and the use of trade-distorting industrial subsidies”.
• Rallying around shared values: Emphasising their vision of a Free and Open Indo­-Pacific that respects the rule of law, freedom of navigation, democratic norms and the use of peaceful means to settle disputes.

Scope for a deepened India-Japan ties

• Balancing security policy against China: India and Japan share similar concerns over China, which aggravated post-India’s clashes with China in Galwan.
  • E.g. Deepening military partnerships opening scope for defence exports (Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) logistics agreement), 2+2 Ministerial meetings, support for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, and continued willingness to work with Quad.
• Scope for technology partnership: Potential sectors to expand cooperation in cybersecurity and emerging technologies.
  • During the Shinzo Abe years, both put together a digital research and innovation partnership that ran the gamut of technologies from AI and 5G to the Internet of Things and space research.
  • Points of contention: India’s insistence on data localisation and continued reluctance to accede to global cybersecurity agreements such as the Budapest Convention.
• Economic ties: Japan invested $34 billion into Indian economy over the last two decades, yet Japan is only India’s 12^th largest trading partner, and trade volumes stand at just a fifth of value of India-China bilateral trade.
  • Scope for expansion: Support for key manufacturing initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and Japan Industrial Townships, secure infrastructure investments in strategically vital connectivity projects currently underway in Northeast and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Third country outlook: In the past, both have collaborated to build infrastructure in Iran and Africa, vital aid to Myanmar and Sri Lanka and a common Association of Southeast Asian Nations outreach policy.
  • The time has come for India and Japan to take a hard look at reports suggesting that joint infrastructure projects in Africa and Iran have stalled with substantial cost overruns and different stand on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Conclusion: Writing in 2006, Shinzo Abe, in his book, Utsukushii Kuni E (Toward a Beautiful Country), expressed his hope that “it would not be a surprise if, in another 10 years, Japan­India relations over­ take Japan­U.S. and Japan­China relations.”