India, Japan to firm up strategic ties despite nuclear stalemate
The Hindu : News / National : India, Japan to firm up strategic ties despite nuclear stalemate
No mention of India's quest for a nuclear pact in Japanese government statement
Despite stalemated talks on a civil nuclear agreement and political uncertainty surrounding the continuation of Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, New Delhi and Tokyo have chalked up a series of high-level engagements to firm up their strategic ties, especially in the security and economic spheres.
In what could be a disappointment for South Block, India's quest for a nuclear pact with Japan found no mention in a detailed Japanese government response on Friday to a question by the Opposition Liberal Democratic Party
In a statement on Friday, the Japanese government requested the Diet to approve civil nuclear accords with Jordan, Russia, South Korea and Vietnam, according to diplomatic sources. Even though its name found no mention, India, whose civil nuclear talks with Japan have not resumed since November last year, could find some cheer in Tokyo's affirmation to continue exporting nuclear power plants despite the crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant.
Also significant was the government's statement that diplomatic negotiations and a relationship of trust of nuclear cooperation in the post-Fukushima scenario would mark its approach to future civil nuclear talks with other countries. Tokyo's endorsement of a civil nuclear pact with India is crucial for French and American companies who depend on Japanese companies for critical reactor machinery.
But away from the headline-grabbing civil nuclear sector, both countries have lined up several high-level engagements aimed at extending maritime cooperation beyond India's immediate vicinity. The two sides are also closing the gaps in a mega project that will build futuristic townships from Delhi to the western coast — the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) — along a high speed railway track called the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC).
On top of the diplomatic agenda is the first U.S.-Japan-India trilateral meeting which could be timed around the East Asia Summit (10 ASEAN members along with observers) in November. With the U.S. getting into the framework of the EAS, there is “good reason for us to start the trilateral dialogue in time for the EAS,'' said the sources. “All of us think maritime security is very important and India should be involved, not only on its side of the Indian Ocean.''
The second Japan-India 2+2, a rare format for India simultaneously involving the Foreign and Defence Secretaries, would also be held around the same time, but with two new faces at the helm in New Delhi – Ranjan Mathai as the Foreign Secretary and Shashi Kant Sharma as the Defence Secretary. These interactions would be interspersed with visits by External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Defence Minister A.K. Antony. These will be capped by the arrival of the Japanese Prime Minister towards the end of the year.
The meetings are likely to see Japan being included in the Malabar series of India-U.S. naval exercises in a big way. The last Malabar series exercise, held in April off Okinawa, had a similar intention of involving a strong Japan Self Defence Forces (SDF) complement. But the tsunami which occurred a month earlier led to the SDF diverting ships for rescue and rehabilitation.
The high-level interactions will also see both sides pushing forward the DFC and closing the gaps in perception with respect to the mega DMIC project. Japan wants to involve more countries and companies in DMIC due to the high investment tab that smart industrial cities entail. On the other hand, India would like Japan and its companies to take the lead role and treat it as the flagship project for infrastructure building.
While civil nuclear cooperation may be still some way off, India-Japan ties are set to burgeon, say the sources, with the green light to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which, among other attributes, could lead to Indian healthcare personnel entering Japan. In the coming months, the economic proximity brought about by CEPA will be buttressed by the DMIC and DFC and the security aspect by the 2+2 bilateral and the trilateral involving the U.S., all of it overlaid by high level interactions, they added.
