India Japan Relations took a new turn with the 7th India-Japan Defence Policy Dialogue, co-chaired by Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane and Vice Minister of Defense for International Affairs Mr Oka Masami, was held in New Delhi
Key Points On India Japan Relations Defence Policy Dialogue
India Japan Relations History
- Exchange between Japan and India is said to have begun in the 6th century when Buddhism was introduced to Japan.
- Japan and India signed a peace treaty and established diplomatic relations on 28th April, 1952. This treaty was one of the first peace treaties Japan signed after World War II.
- In the post World War II period, India’s iron ore helped a great deal Japan’s recovery from the devastation.
- Following Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi’s visit to India in 1957, Japan started providing yen loans to India in 1958, as the first yen loan aid extended by Japanese government.
India Japan Relations Economic Relations
- India was the 18th largest trading partner for Japan, and Japan was the 13th largest trading partner for India in 2021.
- Also, direct investment from Japan to India has been increased, and Japan was the 5th largest investor for India in FY2021.
- Japanese private-sector’s interest in India is rising, and, currently, about 1,439 Japanese companies have branches in India in 2021.
- India has been the largest recipient of the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loan for the past decades
- Delhi Metro is one of the most successful examples of Japanese cooperation through the utilization of ODA.
India Japan Relations Cooperation in Security Fields
- During Prime Minister Singh’s visit to Japan in October 2008, two leaders issued “the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India”.
- There are also various frameworks of security and defense dialogue between Japan and India including Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting (“2+2” meeting), annual Defense Ministerial Dialogue and Coast Guard-to-Coast Guard dialogue.
- India and Japan’s defence forces also organize a series of bilateral exercises such as:
- JIMEX (naval), Malabar exercise (Naval Exercise), ‘Veer Guardian’ and SHINYUU Maitri (Air Force), and Dharma Guardian (Army).
India Japan Relations Common Grouping
- Both India and Japan are members of Quad, G20 and G-4, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
- India-Japan Act East Forum was established in 2017 which aims to provide a platform for India-Japan collaboration under the rubric of India’s “Act East Policy“ and Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”.
Challenges to the India Japan Relations
- China’s power and influence are growing in parts of the Indo-Pacific.
- Numerous challenges facing the Indo-Pacific such as the Ukraine war, food security, and cyber space in addition to issues such as ensuring the freedom of the seas, and connectivity among others.
- The future balance of power in the Indo–Pacific region will largely depend on the actions of the United States, China, and major powers such as Japan and India.
- The trade ties have remained underdeveloped compared to India’s trade ties with China.
- Both India and Japan have diverging interests concerning economic issues like E-commerce rules (Osaka track) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
- India is struggling to penetrate the Japanese market due to language barriers, high quality and service standards.
- Both countries have border issues with China. So, their policy stance hinges generally on China, rather than growing comprehensively.
- India has been more vocal in criticizing China’s actions, while Japan has been more cautious in its approach.
- There is a difference of opinion between India and Japan on the responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Japan is part of the U.S.’s alliance and has also joined sanctions against Russia, while India has refused to do so.
- Also, there exists a difference of opinion when India participated in the Vostok Exercises, which were held close to South Kuril Island (a disputed territory between Russia and Japan).
- India has not joined the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), while a member of Quad & AIIB. India has long adopted a non-aligned approach as opposed to the stauncher, pro-US foreign policy stances of Japan and Australia.
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