BENGALURU – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Monday agreed to expand the India-Japan global strategic partnership, which they said was vital for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.
Mr Kishida arrived in Delhi early on Monday morning for a two-day visit to India, as Japan and India assume the presidencies of the Group of Seven (G-7) and Group of 20 (G-20) forums respectively in 2023.
PM Modi on Monday said both nations’ presidencies of the groupings in 2023 presented them with “the perfect opportunity to work together on our respective priorities” and also for global good. The cooperation would be based on democratic principles and respect for international rule of law, he added.
Mr Kishida said: “We will enhance the connectivity of the Indo-Pacific region, foster the region into a place that values freedom, the rule of law, free from force or coercion, and make it prosperous.”
The Japanese PM’s visit comes amid rising geopolitical tensions around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s growing military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.
He made upholding the rule of law Japan’s key agenda in the G-7, targeting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Japan is among several countries asserting that Russia’s act of military aggression violated the United Nations charter, which requires member states to refrain from the “use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”.
While Tokyo has actively supported Kyiv with military equipment, India has maintained a formal neutrality dictated by national interest. Mr Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin in September 2022 that “it is not a time for war” but India abstained from condemning Russia, as it stepped up buying crude oil at bargain prices and continued to order weapons.
Both the G-20 finance ministers’ and foreign ministers’ meetings hosted by India in February and March ended without a consensus, after Russia and China objected to language condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While in India, Mr Kishida is also expected to unveil his plan to expand support for emerging economies to promote Japan’s vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific region (FOIP).
In an article in local newspaper The Indian Express published on the morning of his arrival, the Japanese Prime Minister wrote that he wanted to “deepen the multi-layered bilateral relationship between our two countries, which is based on shared values and principles of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law”.
Japan would also like to enhance cooperation with India in its smart city projects, he added.
Speaking on Monday at the Indian Council of World Affairs, a policy research institute in New Delhi under India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Mr Kishida formally invited Mr Modi to the G-7 summit in Hiroshima in May, which the latter accepted.
Mr Modi said the leaders reviewed the progress in bilateral relations in areas of defence, digital technology, trade and investment and health, among others. They also discussed the importance of reliable supply chains for semiconductors and other critical technologies for climate transition.
Mr Kishida’s first visit to India as Japan’s PM on March 19, 2022 had been against the backdrop of Russia’s military attack on Ukraine – a situation that both governments said made expediting efforts towards the realisation of a FOIP more relevant.
Both countries have longstanding territorial disputes with China, and are wary of its growing influence and aggression in East Asia.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore in June 2022, Mr Kishida had said that the FOIP would emphasise “providing patrol vessels and enhancing maritime law enforcement capabilities, as well as cyber security, digital and green initiatives, and economic security”.
India and Japan have had a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement since 2011, which seeks to remove duties on 90 per cent of products traded between them, like seafood, textiles, electronics and spices, increase access for professionals and contractual service suppliers and liberalise investment rules.
In March 2022, Mr Kishida announced an investment target of 5 trillion yen (S$51 billion) in India over the next five years.
Bilateral trade between the two countries reached a record high of US$20.75 billion (S$28 billion) that year.
India and Japan, along with the United States and Australia, make up the Quad alliance, which positions itself as a challenge to China’s growing assertiveness in Asia, although members deny any hostile intentions.
