INDIA'S STRATEGIC CONVERGENCE WITH JAPAN IN THE CHANGING INDO-PACIFIC GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPE
“In the changing regional security architecture, the converging and
competing interests of the three major Asian powers — China, India, and
Japan — have driven them to articulate different strategic frameworks as
indicated in Japan’s “Confluence of the Two Seas” idea, China’s
“Maritime Silk Road” initiative, and India’s “Act East” Policy.”
by Madhuchanda Ghosh
Asia Pacific Bulletin, No. 392
Publisher: Washington, DC: East-West Center
Publication Date: August 16, 2017
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Madhuchanda Ghosh,
Assistant Professor at Presidency University, Kolkata.
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The
geopolitical landscape in the Indo-Pacific region is undergoing
unprecedented developments with the rise of new powers, growing power
disparity, and the ensuing new challenges to regional security. In the
changing and complex regional security environment, few relationships
among the major powers have undergone such a remarkable turnaround as
the relationship between India and Japan. The India-Japan civilian
nuclear cooperation agreement, Japan-India maritime security
partnership, and Japan’s permanent membership in the Indo-US Malabar
exercises are some of the major developments which have transformed the
low-intensity relationship into one of the fastest growing bilateral
relationships in Asia.
The ‘Indo-Pacific’ construct, which conceives the
Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean as an interconnected geopolitical
and economic space, has assumed key importance in the emerging
geopolitics of 21st Century Asia. One of the driving factors behind this
region’s growing importance is the great dependence of international
trade on the Indo-Pacific sea lanes of communications (SLOCs). The
security of and access to the important sea lanes have factored in the
formation of strategic partnerships among the central regional actors.
In the changing regional security architecture, the converging and
competing interests of the three major Asian powers — China, India and,
Japan — have driven them to articulate different strategic frameworks as
indicated in Japan’s “Confluence of the Two Seas” idea, China’s
“Maritime Silk Road” initiative, and India’s “Act East” Policy.
Japan’s
security dialogue with India emphasizes enhancing maritime security
given that both are maritime countries with economies heavily dependent
on sea-based transport. India’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean
has impelled Tokyo to engage with Delhi in maritime security
cooperation. India is centrally located between two ‘choke points’ of
global oil supplies, the Malacca Strait on its east and the Strait of
Hormuz on its west. The Malacca Strait, which is the main passage
between the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, is the vital lifeline for
Japan’s international trade. Over 80% of Japan’s energy supplies are
transported from the Persian Gulf through the Malacca Strait which makes
India’s location strategically vital for Japan.
Since
the opening of the India-Japan security dialogue in 2002, deepening
bilateral maritime security cooperation is evident from anti-piracy
operations, which expanded from the Malacca Strait to the Gulf of Aden,
as well as coastguard-to-coastguard exercises and joint naval exercises
in the Pacific and Indian oceans. All of these developments indicate the
keenness of the two states to maintain regional maritime safety and
security. It needs to be noted in this context that India attaches
considerable importance to Japan as its maritime security partner. This
is revealed in Modi government’s October 2015 decision to include Japan
as a permanent member in the Malabar exercises, traditionally a
bilateral India-US exercise. The deepening maritime security cooperation
between the US, India, and Japan indicates the intent of the three
states to jointly contribute towards maintaining the regional balance of
power in the Indo-Pacific.
As
India and Japan collaborate with the United States to collectively
enhance regional maritime security and stability, the growing military
assertiveness of China has caused security challenges in the region.
Beijing’s declaration of an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over
the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands over which it has competing claims with Japan
has caused trepidation in Tokyo. Beijing’s “string of pearls” policy,
which consists of setting up military and naval facilities in India’s
immediate neighborhood including in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, and
Bangladesh has raised fears in New Delhi about naval encirclement of
India. PLAN’s (People’s Liberation Army Navy) nuclear submarine,
patrolling the crucial sea-lanes in the Indian Ocean, also contributes
to these fears. As PLAN expands its footprint in the Indian Ocean,
India’s decision to upgrade civilian infrastructure in Andaman and
Nicobar Islands is noteworthy.
This Indian archipelago in the Bay of
Bengal, strategically positioned at the mouth of the Malaccan Strait, is
an immensely valuable geopolitical asset for India which New Delhi
perceives as a critical asset to safeguard freedom of navigation in this
region. India’s seeking Japanese collaboration for upgrading
infrastructure in these islands indicates a major change in its
longstanding policy of rejecting foreign investment on this
strategically important island chain.
The
rising tensions in the South China Sea (SCS) also figure as an area of
common concern for India and Japan. The SCS has emerged as a global
flashpoint as China locks horns with neighboring states including
Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan over control of three
sets of islands: the Spratly Islands, Scarborough Shoal, and Paracels.
More than half of India’s overseas trade flows through the SCS shipping
lanes, which is one of the underlying factors behind the Indian Navy’s
prioritizing of the issue of ensuring a stable maritime security
environment in the SCS region. More than half of Japan’s energy supplies
pass through this region. In the 2015 and 2016 India-Japan joint
statements, the two Prime Ministers voiced serious concern over the
developments in the SCS region and stressed the importance of resolving
the disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with the principles of
international law including UNCLOS.
The
Indo-Pacific region is on the cusp of a major change as India and Japan
propose the creation of a sea-corridor, the Asia-Pacific Growth
Corridor (AAGC), linking the two continents, Asia and Africa, amidst
China’s OBOR initiative, which entails the development of a land
corridor connecting these two continents. AAGC reflects the growing
strategic convergence of India and Japan over the issue of promoting
freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific. Both of the states have
reasons to support freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific — including
the SCS — to safeguard the maritime commons stretching from the Indian
Ocean region to the Pacific and together contribute toward maintaining
the regional balance of power. The common strategic interests and
concerns have propelled Prime Minister Abe to call Japan and India
“natural allies.” With Abe seeking closer ties with India, India-Japan
strategic engagement will have a decisive impact on the Asian balance of
power.