Japan’s Takaichi looks to India to counter China in Indo-Pacific

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in India this week seeking a deeper economic and security partnership, but analysts say the bigger question is how far New Delhi is prepared to align with Tokyo’s China-focused Indo-Pacific strategy. Takaichi held talks with her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in Delhi on Thursday, with economic security, strategic cooperation and collaboration on innovative technologies high on the agenda. Analysts suggest the overarching aim of the three-day trip is to shore up a coalition of nations concerned about China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region, while also handing Takaichi an “easy win” as her domestic support slips because of the economic hardships many ordinary Japanese are experiencing. Security and the economy were important to both Japan and India, with Takaichi wanting to “accelerate Japan’s security transition and show that India is an important part of that”, Ben Ascione, an assistant professor of politics and international relations at Tokyo’s Waseda University, told This Week in Asia. “But whether and to what extent India will share those same views remains to be seen.” Ascione said the thinking behind Tokyo’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” diplomatic campaign was to move beyond Asia-Pacific regionalism by drawing India more firmly into alignment as a counterweight to China. “The problem is India’s willingness to play that role oscillates depending on its relationship with China at any given time,” he said. “When India and China were engaged in border skirmishes, they were more willing to cooperate with the US and Japan, but when relations are more stable then India is less willing to play the role that security hawks in Japan hope it will play.” With the border presently peaceful – although Ascione concedes that could change suddenly – India is less likely to be open to Tokyo’s entreaties. In a social media post shortly after she arrived in Delhi on Wednesday evening, Takaichi said she aimed to strengthen the “special strategic global partnership”. “In discussions with Prime Minister Modi, centring on urgent issues including economic security and energy security, we will aim to deepen the strategic cooperative relationship between Japan and India in light of the current international situation, promote mutually complementary cooperation and further strengthen the Japan-India ‘Special Strategic Global Partnership’,” she wrote. Japanese companies are investing heavily in Indian technology manufacturing, including a large semiconductor plant being built in northeast India, with further investment expected as both countries edge away from reliance on China for chips and other technologies susceptible to export restrictions by Beijing. Discussions would also cover conducting bilateral trade in rupees and yen, enabling both sides to eliminate payments in US dollars, the Nikkei reported. The two governments are expected to set up a stockpiling partnership for liquefied natural gas to hedge against uncertainties in global supply chains, a risk highlighted by the recent conflict between the US and Iran. Additional agreements are likely on information sharing, mineral supply chains and cooperation on artificial intelligence and other new technologies. Takaichi also plans to unveil a scheme allowing Indians with critical technology skills to work in Japan. Yet the Japanese leader’s primary concern is the threat posed by China, according to Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor of international relations at Tokyo’s Waseda University. “There are going to be a lot of discussions about economic issues, but it’s hard to look beyond both countries’ relationships with China as a cause for shared concern,” he said. “Takaichi wants closer relations with India as a counter to China.” Shigemura also pointed out that Tokyo had been on a clear diplomatic offensive since Takaichi’s election win in February, working to develop tighter security alliances with other nations and organisations. Progress has been made in bringing together the armed forces of Japan and South Korea for air and maritime drills, despite the reservations of many in Seoul due to the two nations’ fraught shared history. Japan is also looking to bolster defence capacity in several Southeast Asian nations, notably the Philippines and Indonesia, both of which have disputes with Beijing over its sweeping claims in the South China Sea. Japan has carried out military exercises with units from Britain, France, Italy and Germany, as well as manoeuvres with its long-standing security ally, the US. Tokyo is also using its observer status to raise its profile at meetings of the transatlantic security alliance Nato. “The key element of Japan’s foreign policy at the moment is to build an alliance that is capable of resisting China,” Shigemura said. “Progressing that policy would be an easy win that would be popular at a time when she is beginning to struggle in the polls because of the domestic economic situation.” Ascione said the policy of containing China was nothing new, dating back at least to the administration of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, though the need for a new coalition was arguably more pressing now. “Publicly, Takaichi is going out of her way to praise [US President] Donald Trump and to repeatedly state the importance of the US security alliance. But behind closed doors in Tokyo, they are doing everything they can to diversify and find new security partners in the region and beyond,” he said. “Japan knows a lot of work needs to be done in this area because of the unreliability of the US under Trump.”

Japan’s Takaichi looks to India to counter China in Indo-Pacific

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The prime minister is looking to make India an ‘important part’ of Japan’s security transition while boosting economic ties, analysts say

The prime minister is looking to make India an ‘important part’ of Japan’s security transition while boosting economic ties, analysts say