What is the issue?
- India & Japan currently have a “Special Strategic and Global Partnership”.
- New Delhi accords this status to no other partner.
- However, it largly falls short of a full fledged alliance.
Why did India confer such a status?
- Geopolitics - The rise of China and doubts about USA’s commitments in Asia has pushed both the countries towards this relationship.
- Economic Aspect - Japan is investing heavily in Indian projects.
- The two countries are also working on a joint infrastructure development and connectivity drive traversing the Indian Ocean.
- Their projects span from Myanmar to Sri Lanka to Iran and encompass the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor.
- Defence – Indo-Japan joint naval exercises are being regularly organised together with the U.S. Navy.
- Major arms deals like the ShinMaywa US-2i amphibious aircraft are on the cards.
- Japanese investments in the strategically places like the Andaman & Nicobar Islands is also likely to help India enhance its security sentinals.
How is this different from an alliance?
- Alliances have lacked their relevance in the post-cold war era and strategic partnerships have increasingly become the norm.
- Lacking commitment - Unlike alliances, strategic partnerships don’t demand commitments to a partner’s disputes with other countries.
- New Delhi does not take a strong position on Japan’s territorial disputes with China and Russia.
- Likewise, Tokyo does not openly side with India in its quarrels with China and Pakistan.
- Strategic partnership involves countries retaining their unconstrained diplomatic flexibility while continuing political engagement & economic cooperation.
- Collaborative Approach – It also involves regular high-level interactions over a range of activities whereas an alliance is usually more pronounced in for defense & economy.
- India and Japan are not only moving forward on economic and defence cooperation but are also cooperating on issues such as civil nuclear energy and UN reform.
- It is also essential in the present times where states find themselves interdependent, even if their relationship is characterised by strategic tension.
- e.g. India might confront China at Doklam but it also wants Chinese investment.
Source: The HIndu
