India-Japan Relations: Partnership for Peace and Security in Asia

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India-Japan relations are entering a new phase of enhanced cooperation with the objective of evolving the bilateral relationship into a 'strategic partnership' encompassing global, regional, and bilateral dimensions. Perhaps, this is for the first time that India and Japan have embarked upon such an ambitious agenda, which is also indicative of the commitment both countries have shown.

Asia is undergoing remarkable and profound changes both politically and economically. While the economic dynamism is well appreciated and taken note of, concerns continue to linger on the security front. Many of them to a large extent can be ameliorated with greater cooperation among the regional great powers. In this context, India-Japan relations acquire added salience which can contribute to peace and security in East Asia.

Bearing the above in mind, certain vital topics such as Southeast Asian security issues, nuclear issues and prospects for arms control in the Asia-Pacific, rise of China, economic relations between India and Japan, perceptions on global and regional strategic environment, and the multilateral frameworks, including United Nations reform are discussed by various authors.

N. S. SISODIA is Director of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, and a Member of the National Security Advisory Board. He holds an Honour's degree in History from the University of Delhi and a Master's degree in Public Policy and Management from Harvard University, where he was a Mason Fellow. He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1968 and served as Additional Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat and Secretary to Government of India in the Ministries of Finance and Defence. He was a member of the Task Force constituted to recommend measures for Reforming the Management of Defence. He has also been Vice-Chancellor, University of Udaipur.

G. V. C. NAIDU is Senior Fellow with the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. A doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University, he specialises in security issues in the Asia-Pacific. His research interests include security problems of the Asia-Pacific, role of multilateralism, Japan's foreign and security policies, US policies towards Asia, energy and maritime-related issues, and India's relations with Southeast Asia and Japan. He has published a book on the Indian Navy and Southeast Asia and several monographs.

The sixth in the series of bilateral round tables between the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), Tokyo was held in New Delhi on March 14-15, 2005 under IDSA's auspices. This was the first time since the annual dialogues began between the two leading think tanks that the Japanese side was represented by a 10-member delegation, comprising eminent academics, senior diplomats, both serving and retired, military officers, business representatives, and journalists. This is indicative of the growing importance of bilateral relations and the role the round tables are playing in this regard.

This bilateral especially acquires enormous significance because India-Japan relations are entering a new phase of enhanced cooperation. As the visit by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to India in April 2005 proved, an earnest endeavour has been undertaken to evolve the bilateral relationship into what is known as a 'strategic partnership'. This partnership now encompasses three levels - global, regional, and bilateral. Perhaps, this is for the first time that India and Japan have embarked upon such an ambitious agenda, which is also indicative of the commitment both countries have shown.

Bearing in mind the urgent need to take this process forward with a view to provide policy inputs, the foregoing IDSA-JIIA bilateral dialogue held discussions on certain vital topics such as Southeast Asian security issues, nuclear issues and prospects for arms control in the Asia-Pacific, rise of China, economic relations between India and Japan, perceptions on the global and regional strategic environment, and the multilateral frameworks, including United Nations reform.

The following inferences were arrived at during the course of deliberations on the above themes. It was recognised that India and Japan should consult regularly and undertake joint efforts in the management of both global and regional affairs. The restructuring of the UN Security Council, where India and Japan have been working together, the strengthening of global multilateral institutions and contributions to world peace, security and development are important common concerns. As major stakeholders, the future economic and security order in the Asia- Pacific obviously constitutes a vital area of mutual interest. In this region, both India and Japan face a range of security challenges that are trans-border in nature: terrorism, human trafficking, piracy, narcotic trade and money laundering. This is particularly acute in South and Southeast Asia, and can only be tackled through trans- national cooperation. There are other larger security aspects as well, such as the rise of China, the role of the newly created regional multilateral mechanisms and paradigm shifts in regional equilibrium and order that warrant close consultations and further enhancing and strengthening of the bilateral security dialogue.

Although both India and Japan have been liberalising their economies, bilateral economic interaction in trade and investment has been disappointing. Trade has been virtually stagnant in the last decade or so. Japanese investments are still modest though an upward trend is discernible in the last couple of years. India emerging as the largest recipient of Japanese Official Development Assistance since 2004 should augur well to change this trend. Additionally, perhaps one of the ways to improve the economic component would be to initiate discussions to explore the possibility of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.