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Showing posts with the label Indo-Japanese ties

Japan and India: A Special Relationship? ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Vivek Mishra)

Image credits- Indian Navy Source- The National Interest Author- Vivek Mishra Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent three-day visit to Japan is a sign that the bilateral relationship between India and Japan is headed for newer heights. More importantly, there seems to be a palpable method to this resurgent Asian connection that does not just attempt to restore the balance of power in Asia. The two sides are astutely restructuring regional formulations in the Asian geopolitical theatre through a mix of economic, political and strategic accomplishments. India was able to draw Japan’s support for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), negotiate small but significant progress in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train timeline, ease Indian student visas and facilitate the training of 30 thousand Indians in Japanese manufacturing practices. Two other developments that took place during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan could turn the India-Japan relationship

A Japan-Singapore-India Maritime Partnership ( Source- The Diplomat / Authors- Satoru Nagao and Koh Swee Lean Collin)

Image credits- VOA Source- The Diplomat Authors- Satoru Nagao and Koh Swee Lean Collin The Indo-Pacific region has been fraught with maritime issues, including an array of non-traditional security threats, notably seaborne piracy and terrorism – two salient challenges highlighted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he addressed the valedictory function of India’s recent International Fleet Review. This warning came at an apt moment when regional waters have seen a recent spike in the number of piratical attacks and sea robberies. At the same time, the prospect of extremism and militancy spreading from land to the maritime domain constitutes a very real threat. But without a doubt, simmering tensions in the East and South China Seas have overshadowed reports of, say, pirates in regional waters. In the South China Sea especially, the situation has taken a turn for the worse. Between October 2015 and February this year, the U.S. Navy conducted freedom of navigati

Where Is America in Japan and India's Plans for Asia? ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Richard Fontaine)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Japanese Prime Minister Shizo Abe (Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Narendra Modi Official) Source- The National Interest Author-  Richard Fontaine The recent visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to New Delhi marks a new step forward in the quickly deepening ties between India and Japan. Each led by a conservative prime minister with a muscular foreign policy, the two countries are motivated by a desire to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific region. They are also united by a concern about rising Chinese power and assertiveness and a determination to balance against it. Washington should welcome the new links between its Japanese ally and its Indian strategic partner and encourage their further growth. The new warmth serves American interests in profound ways. By balancing China and ensuring that it rises in a region where the democratic powers are also strong and working together, closer ties between Tokyo and New Delhi he

Japan Dreams Of A Chinese Energy Chokehold – Analysis ( Source- Eurasia / Author- Robert Shines)

Image credits- You Tube/ Author Source- Eurasia Review Author- Robert Shines “Diamond of Democracies” was a term used to refer to a would-be alliance between the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India and their collective efforts to counter the rise of China. However, Japan has patiently and carefully formulated its own bloc for this very same purpose. Additionally, these plans were complemented by pre-Ukraine Crisis overtures toward Russia to resolve their Kuril Islands dispute. Former Colonies Awaken Echoing their mother country’s path to preeminence, both India and Australia are making strides in building formidable navies able to project power locally and deny access to potential enemies. India’s value to Japan is twofold. First, it is a huge Asian land power with a contemporary history of animosity with China, namely their 1962 border skirmish. It also serves to keep China’s attention divided in the event of a clash with Japan, much like China keeps India’s at

Japan-India Maritime Surveillance Aircraft Deal May Come Before the New Year ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Ankit Panda)

Shinmaywa US-2 ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda I’ve been writing on Japan-India relations for years and it seems like a highly anticipated deal for the sale of Japanese-made Shinmaywa US-2 amphibious aircraft has been just around the corner since at least 2011. Now, the Japan Times reports that the two countries are likely to at long last reach “a broad defense accord” when Shinzo Abe visits New Delhi from December 11 to 13. New Delhi and Tokyo, under their strategic global partnership, hold annual prime ministerial summits (each affords this privilege to no other country). The deal, once completed, would signal a major step forward in India-Japan security ties, building on parallel developments including Japan’s bid to join the U.S.-India Malabar naval exercises as a permanent member. Negotiations for a US-2 sale to India began in Japan under the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) governments of Naoto Kan and Yoshihiko Noda.

India, Australia, Japan Hold First Ever Trilateral Dialogue ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Prashanth Parameswaran)

Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- United States Navy Source- The Diplomat Author Prashanth Parameswaran This week, India, Japan and Australia held their first ever high-level trilateral dialogue in New Delhi. The talks were attended by Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar, Japanese vice foreign minister Akitaka Saiki and Australian secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese. The trio reportedly discussed a range of issues at the dialogue. Maritime security was on the agenda, including freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and trilateral maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The countries also discussed the prospects for greater economic cooperation. Indian naval sources also said that a joint exercise between the three nations is a possibility further down the line and that preliminary talks have already taken place. Indian naval officials are currently in Perth for separate talks on their firs

India and Japan Continue to Deepen Their Defense Ties ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Franz Stefan-Gady)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan-Gady Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar has embarked on a four-day visit to Japan this week. The purpose of Parrikar’s visit – his first overseas trip since becoming defense minister in November 2014 – is to strengthen defense ties between India and Japan in the face of China’s growing military might in the region. Parrikar already had meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and  his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani. Today, he also met with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. According to a press statement by the Indian and Japanese defense ministers, both countries want to make the area of defense equipment and technology a “key pillar of bilateral defense relations.”  An Indian press release noted that the Indian defense minister, “welcomed Japan’s initiative to strengthen bilateral ties and said that Japan is a privileged partner of India in ‘Make in India’ including in de

India and Japan Inch Closer to Surveillance Aircraft Deal (Source- The Diplomat / Author- Ankit Panda)

Shin Meiwa U2 plane ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda As India and Japan continue to strategically converge amid mutual fears regarding China’s rise, they have deepened their defense cooperation. Notably, India will likely be Japan’s first export partner for military hardware under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s principles on defense equipment exports. The Japanese government recently lifted its decades-old self-imposed ban on exporting weaponry to other countries. The two governments look all set to conclude a landmark deal for the sale of Japanese amphibious search and rescue (SAR) aircraft, a deal that has been in the works for years. India will likely purchase 12 ShinMaywa US-2 short take-off and landing (STOL) SARs this year (down from an earlier estimate of 15). Negotiations for the sale of the US-2 began in 2011 under the Democratic Party of Japan, first under Prime Minister Naoto Kan and then under Yoshihiko Nod

$1.65-bn SAR aircraft deal likely to take off during Modi’s Japan visit ( Copy Right @ The Financial Express)

ShinMaywa US-2 ( Image credits-Wikimedia commons/Author- まも) A pending deal involving purchase of 15 ShinMaywa US-2i Amphibious and Rescue (SAR) aircraft for $1.65 billion is likely to be sealed when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Japan shortly.MoD sources said in march, a delegation of senior officials, including from the Navy, visited the facilities where the amphibious aircraft is being produced. They also sought to iron out issues related to modifications that would allow Japan to export the aircraft to India without violating its self-imposed defence export restrictions. A friend-or-foe identification system will be removed from the aircraft, a defence official said. Both countries had, at that time, also discussed the possibility of India being permitted to assemble the aircraft indigenously, giving it access to Japanese military technology. The deal was put on hold because of general election in India. "The deal is significant for a variety of reasons. On

Japan lifts ban on arms exports: Will help create a balance of power in the region. ( Copy Right @ Indian Defence and security Analysis)

Image courtesy- Wikimedia Commons and the author Japan has lifted it decades old ban on arms export adopted as part of its pacifist constitution. The decision replaced the self-imposed ban dating to the late 1960s with new, still-restrictive guidelines that permit the export of weapons only to allies and partners that agree not to sell them to third nations without Japanese approval. The new guidelines will also make it easier for Japan to join multinational development projects for expensive new weapons systems, like the American-led effort to build the F-35 stealth fighter jet. In 1967, Japan adopted three principles of weapons sales which prohibited arms sales to Communist nations, countries under United Nations sanctions and countries in armed conflict, but it eventually grew into a blanket ban on all weapons exports. China repeatedly invokes the WWII and the atrocities of Japan to criticize any move by Japan to enhance its own security. China has over the last few years

India close to buying Japan-made military aircraft (Info courtesy The Reuters)

Info courtesy- Wikimedia and the author (Reuters) - India is set to become the first country since World War Two to buy a military aircraft from Japan, helping Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dismantle a ban on weapons exports that has kept his country's defence contractors out of foreign markets. http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/28/india-japan-idINDEEA0R07S20140128

Japan And India: The Twin Pillars Of Asian Security - Analysis ( Info courtesy The Eurasia review)

Add caption China’s emergence as Asia’s most prominent ‘regional spoiler state’ and its strategic trajectories betraying its ambitions to emerge as Asia’s most predominant power has left Japan and India to shoulder the challenges of operating as the twin pillars of Asian security. http://www.eurasiareview.com/26012014-japan-india-twin-pillars-asian-security-analysis/

China on the radar, India invites Japan for Indo-US war games (Info courtesy www.defencenews.in)

Pic courtesy-Wikimedia and United States Navy Injecting some much-needed thrust to its rapidly expanding strategic partnership with Japan, India has invited the Japanese forces to take part in this year's edition of the Indo-US Malabar naval war games that have riled China in the past. India and Japan on Saturday also decided to hold another joint working group meeting in March to discuss the sale of Japanese US-2i ShinMayva amphibious aircraft to Indian Navy, apart from ramping up defence ties through regular joint combat exercises and military exchanges as well as cooperation in anti-piracy, maritime security and counter-terrorism.................  http://defencenews.in/defence-news-internal.aspx?id=U0nBViR/qkc=