By: T.P Sreenivasan
The penetration of China, Japan and South Korea into Asia, Africa and Latin America was referred to as “silver bullet diplomacy” or “cheque book diplomacy”, as it was the economic push that enabled them to establish themselves in poor developing nations. China continues to use the silver bullet to expand economic and political influence in these countries, while Japan has moved on to a more sophisticated approach of developing mutually beneficial cooperation in trade and commerce, leading to political clout for itself. The unprecedented warmth of the welcome Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the wide ranging agreements reached there showed the extraordinary range and depth of India-Japan relations. If the Buddha was the symbol of cordial relations between India and Japan in the past, today it is the bullet train, which has become the symbol of progress through technology that the two countries have agreed to foster.
PM Modi’s “demonstrative diplomacy” broke all records in both language and body language when he used all the possible superlatives for his “best friend” and repeatedly embraced him. He put the sour and sweet visit to China, the pains of demonetisation and petrol prices and the general down turn of the economy behind him to roll out the red carpet and to stage a roadshow to stress the importance of the visit. The bullet train for which the foundation stone was laid by him and “Abe san” was characterised as a reflection of the fast speed of India’s economic development.
The Joint Statement issued by the two Prime Ministers was one of the most extensive and forward looking documents signed recently by India, embracing all aspects of political, economic and cultural relations. Gone are the days of the bitter exchanges between India and Japan on nuclear non-proliferation issues and today, nuclear cooperation is an anchor of the new relationship. The whole exercise was to move toward a “free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific”, with a new partnership among India, Japan, the US and others, as seen in the “Malabar” exercise in the region, which has already caused flutters across the Himalayas.
The Statement celebrated the “Special Strategic and Global Partnership” between the two countries and the significant deepening of bilateral relations in the past three years and the growing convergence in the political, economic and strategic interests, based on the firm foundation of common values and traditions, as well as on an emerging consensus on contemporary issues of peace, security and development. The Prime Ministers decided “to work together to elevate their partnership to the next level to advance common strategic objectives at a time when the global community is faced with new challenges.”
For Japan, which professes to be non-militaristic in its approach to security, the words used in the statement on security in the Asia -Pacific region broke new ground. The statement pledged to reinforce their efforts to align Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy with India’s Act East Policy, including through enhancing maritime security cooperation, improving connectivity in the wider Indo-Pacific region, strengthening cooperation with ASEAN, and promoting discussions between strategists and experts of the two countries and to enhance defence and security cooperation and dialogues, including the MALABAR and other joint exercises, defence equipment and technology cooperation in such areas as surveillance and unmanned system technologies, and defence industry cooperation.
The economic cooperation sections of the statement are very detailed and specific in support of India’s economic reforms and projects such as “Make in India”, “Digital India”, “Skill India’ etc. indicating the readiness of Japan to invest heavily in the relevant areas. Even an area of contention relating to higher IP standards, undermining import of affordable generic medicines into Japan was sought to be dealt with by a reference to pharmaceuticals as an area of cooperation.
The entry into force of the Agreement between India and Japan for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy was welcomed as the Agreement reflecting a new level of mutual confidence and strategic partnership in the cause of clean energy, economic development and a peaceful and secure world. Similarly, it was acknowledged that outer space is an ever-expanding frontier of human endeavour and welcomed the deepening of cooperation between the space agencies of the two countries in the field of earth observation, satellite based navigation, space sciences and lunar exploration.
Any direct criticism of China was carefully avoided, but the statement highlighted the importance of peaceful resolution of disputes, including through full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, without resorting to the threat or use of force, and in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law, notably the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The two Prime Ministers also reiterated their desire and determination to work together to maintain and promote peace, stability, and development in the Indo-Pacific region, in a thinly veiled reference to Chinese expansionism in the region. But there was no restraint in the case of North Korea, which was condemned for its development of nuclear and missile technology and its threat of use of force.
India received the fullest endorsement of its concerns about terrorism when Japan joined India to condemn, in the strongest terms the growing menace of terrorism and violent extremism. They shared the view that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is a global scourge that must be forcefully combatted through concerted global action in the spirit of “zero tolerance”. They called for Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorist attacks including those of the November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai and the 2016 terrorist attack in Pathankot. They looked forward to the convening of the fifth India-Japan Consultation on Terrorism and to strengthening cooperation against terrorist threats from groups including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lakshar-e-Tayyiba, and their affiliates.
The strong partnership between India and Japan to seek permenent membership of the UN Security Council was restated and support was expressed for India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and APEC. The differences between India and Japan on climate change were papered over with a commitment to the Paris Agreement and related international agreements. A long list of measures for people to people is the icing on the cake of a model relationship.
The new relationship between India and Japan, exemplified in the Abe visit reflects Japan’s own emergence out of the US security and foreign policy umbrella, which had inhibited development of relations with India, in spite of many cultural and historic links. The increasing threat from China has added urgency to a security partnership, which is likely to flourish in the years to come.
(The writer is former Ambassador of India and Governor for India of the IAEA, Chairman, Academic Council and Director, NSS Academy of Civil Services and Director General, Kerala International Centre).