In a significant development for the Asian and emerging global order that went largely unnoticed, India agreed to speed up the mining of its rare earth reserves during the visit of its Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Japan between October 24-26, 2010 for the annual bilateral summit. Rare earth materials find application in various niche areas like petroleum refining, wind turbines, fibre- optics transmission and missile-guidance systems. Though China leads the world in their production, currently supplying almost 97 per cent of the world’s output, India has the world’s fourth largest reserves of these materials. India’s move was also intended to deliver a not-too-subtle message to China that India and Japan would in future synergise their energies towards preventing the emergence of a China-dominated Asia. During this particular visit, India and Japan concluded a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), agreed to speed up negotiations on a civil nuclear deal, simplified visa procedures, besides agreeing to work together to secure peace and stability in Asia.

China’s emergence as the second biggest economy in the world has not only had an impact on the Asian economy, but also on the balance of power in Asia. Buoyed by its booming foreign exchange reserves, China has adopted an increasingly belligerent posture in Asia, particularly towards Japan, with which it has had a fraught history. In the last few months, the relations between Japan and China have been marred by a series of unsavoury incidents.

When a Chinese trawler rammed into Japanese Coast Guard vessels near the disputed Senkaku islands on September 7, 2010, very few could have foreseen the diplomatic spat that ensued. China demanded that Japan release the trawler’s crew which it had taken into custody. Though Japan initially refused to do so, it did so later only to be met with a Chinese demand for a formal apology and compensation (which Japan refused). It was during this crisis that China unofficially declared a ban on the export of rare earth materials to Japan, sending a shiver down the spine of many Japanese companies which depend on Chinese rare-earth supplies.

Again, when North Korea shelled the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong on November 23, 2010, China refused to haul up the Hermit Kingdom, in spite of being the only country that has an influence on the recalcitrant North and its leaders. Of late, China has also been upgrading its weaponry. Recent media reports from China indicate that it has developed its first stealth fighter-the Chengdu J-20 fighter. It has also developed an anti-ship ballistic missile that could sink U.S. aircraft carriers and Japanese navy vessels. The newly-developed “D” version of China’s DF-21 medium-range missile could potentially change the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific.

HISTORICAL ALLIES

The ties between India and Japan go back deep into history. While cultural ties between Japan and India go back to the 7th century AD when Buddhism came to Japan from India via China and Korea, direct ties between the two countries date only to the mid-19th century. Indian culture has had a great impact on Japanese culture. The two countries have enjoyed close ties and the rise of Japan from the late 19th century onwards was a source of inspiration for the other Asian nations.

The victory of Japan over Czarist Russia in 1904 gave a great impetus to nationalist movements in Asia against the colonial powers. In his autobiography, Jawaharlal Nehru mentioned the impact of the news of the Japanese victory. While writing to his daughter Indira, Nehru noted that “Japan’s victory was seen to be due to her adoption of new industrial methods of the West. These so-called Western ideas and methods thus became more popular all over the East.”

After the end of World War II, in 1949, the first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru donated two Indian elephants to the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. This brought a glimmer of hope into the lives of the Japanese people who still had not recovered from defeat in the war. Japan and India inked a peace treaty and established diplomatic relations in April 1952 which was one of the first peace treaties Japan signed after the World War II. India's iron ore played a big role in aiding Japan’s recovery efforts. After Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi's path-breaking visit to India in 1957, it started providing yen loans to India.

During the Second World War, Indian troops fighting under the British flag had fought Japanese troops while some Indians under the Indian National Army fought the British with Japanese support. After the end of the war, which ended with the defeat of Japan, Justice Radha Binod Pal was the lone dissenting voice on the war crimes tribunal set up to try Japanese war criminals. India became independent and expressed its support for Japanese interests. The Indian delegation at the Far Eastern Commission was sympathetic to Japanese concerns about rebuilding their nation and to encouraging Japanese industry and finance. In 1949, the Indian delegation decided to stop pressing the question in the Commission regarding its share of reparations from Japan and proposed putting an end to reparations altogether, taking into consideration the fact that burden of making such payments told heavily on the living standards of the Japanese people.

Though the Japanese public responded favourably to India’s stand, the positive perceptions of each other were not sufficient to prevent India and Japan joining the post- WWII community of nations with diametrically opposite standpoints. While non- alignment, peaceful coexistence and recognition of China’s rightful place in the world were the lynchpins of India’s foreign policy; Japan based its position on alignment, balance of power and the containment of China. Hence the two countries moved slowly and cautiously with respect to each other.

During this period, while India tended to dismiss Japan as a camp follower of the US, the general opinion in Japan of India was that of a chaotic, dysfunctional, desperately poor country. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru paid a visit to Japan later in the year. Following these visits, India received its first Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) in 1958. With regards to border disputes between India and China and wars between India and Pakistan, Japan preferred to follow the middle path and did not take any sides.

During this period, Japan became the largest bilateral donor to India. Japan’s position as India’s largest aid donor continues till date. The 1980s marked a turnaround in Indo-Japan relations. The highlight of Indo-Japanese cooperation during this phase was the joint venture between India and Japan – the Maruti-Suzuki plant to manufacture small cars in India. The Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone paid a visit to in 1984. This was followed in quick succession by the visits of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to Japan in 1985, 1987 and 1988.

THE NEW ERA IN THE TIES

With the end of the Cold War, India began its “Look East” policy in the early 1990s and opened up its economy. The “Look-East Policy” (LEP) designed to improve its ties with the Southeast Asian and East Asian countries. Throughout the annals of its history, India has had deep cultural, economic and political ties with the Southeast and East Asian nations. However in the years after its independence, this region was completely overlooked by India because of various reasons. India supported the anti-colonial movement in Southeast Asia –the convening of the Asian Relations Conference in 1947, a special conference on Indonesia in January 1949, Chairmanship of the International Control Commission on Indo-China in 1954 and the sponsoring of the Bandung Conference –all these reflected India’s deep involvement in the freedom struggle being waged by the countries of the region. But the growing pro-Soviet tilt of India’s foreign policy drove a wedge between India and the Southeast Asian nations. However, India’s membership of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) afforded a greater degree of interaction between India and many countries which it had neglected in the immediate years after its independence.

When India conducted a series of nuclear tests in Pokhran, Rajasthan in May 1998, it took the world by surprise. Many countries including Japan reacted strongly to the tests. It suspended all political exchanges and even economic assistance was frozen for nearly three years. However a turnaround in damaged ties was achieved in August 2000, when the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori made a five-day visit to India. Mori and the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee called for “global partnership,” During the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Tokyo in 2006 during the tenure of Shinzo Abe, the two Prime Ministers decided to go for a “strategic” partnership.

An idea was mooted for a Quadrilateral Initiative (QI) involving the US, Japan, Australia and India . The Malabar Exercises involving the navies of these countries in addition to that of Singapore, took place in the Bay of Bengal in September 2007. However the QI fizzled out as none of the countries wanted to annoy China.

Japan has been attempting to ‘normalize’ itself by playing a more active role in international affairs, including military deployment overseas, even if it is in non- combat roles. This however has caused concern not only domestically but also among Japan’s immediate neighbours that bore the brunt of Japanese expansionism and colonialism. This has meant that Article 9 of the so-called Peace Constitution of Japan has come under pressure. While the Article disallows any kind of military buildup by Japan, this has been challenged almost from its inception with the creation of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in 1952, and the use of Japanese bases by US forces during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Japan has since the end of the Cold War deployed its troops in peacekeeping operations under the UN mandate beginning with Cambodia in 1992 besides deploying them in non-combat roles in war zones like Iraq and providing logistics support such as refueling for US-led coalition ships in the Indian Ocean.

THE CHINA ANGLE

There is speculation on whether or not China has been a factor in the emerging strategic relationship between India and Japan. Official denials notwithstanding, both countries have reasons to be concerned about the future role of China on the global scene. India’s national psyche still bears the scars of 1962, despite the efforts to normalise Sino-Indian relations since 1988. China has proliferated missile and nuclear technology to Pakistan, and continues to be a major source of weaponry for that country. Further, India is deeply troubled by China’s “string of pearls” strategy of setting up military and naval facilities in India’s vicinity, especially in Myanmar and Pakistan.

India and Japan are China’s next-door neighbours and worry that Beijing’s accumulating power could fashion a Sino-centric Asia. The Chinese are concerned for they have very real fears about the US and Japan – China’s two most important neighbours.

PROSPECTS FOR INDO-JAPANESE COOPERATION

Japan is heavily dependent on energy supplies from the Middle East, and the safety of sea lanes of communication (SLOCs) are a vital security interest. Given this scenario, Japan is in need of India’s support to keep its SLOC’s safe since the Indian Navy has a formidable presence in the region between the Straits of Hormuz and the Straits of Malacca. Maritime cooperation is one of the most promising areas between India and Japan.

Another area of cooperation between Japan and India is in Myanmar and Afghanistan. India has huge strategic stakes in both countries. Japan has committed considerable sums for reconstruction in Afghanistan. In Myanmar, however, it has followed a policy more independent of the US and has not imposed sanctions against the junta preferring instead a policy of constructive engagement, including providing ODA. As in the case of India, there is here, no doubt, an element of countering China.

Japan’s primary interests lie in its immediate neighbourhood. There is scope for greater defense cooperation, intelligence-sharing and joint initiatives on maritime security, counterterrorism, disaster prevention and management and energy security between India and Japan.

In October 2008, India and Japan signed a momentous security accord since Tokyo has concluded such an agreement with only one other country, Australia. The India-Japan security agreement marks a significant milestone in building Asian power equilibrium. What Tokyo and New Delhi signed is a framework agreement, to be followed up with “an action plan with specific measures to advance security cooperation” in particular areas, ranging from sea-lane safety and defence collaboration to disaster management and counterterrorism. The significance of the Indo-Japanese agreement truly parallels the 2005 Indo-U.S. defence framework accord, which marked a major transformation of the strained relationship between the world’s most populous and most powerful democracies. Both those agreements focus on counterterrorism, disaster response, safety of sea-lanes of communications, non-proliferation, bilateral and multilateral military exercises, peace operations, and defence dialogue and cooperation. But the former has not only been signed at a higher level — prime ministerial — but also comes with a key element: “policy coordination on regional affairs in the Asia-Pacific region and on long-term strategic and global issues.”

Between the coast guards, combined exercises on anti-piracy, search and rescue have been conducted every year since 2000. Heads of coast guards of both countries visit each other almost every year. The two coast guards exchanged a Memorandum on Cooperation at the occasion of commandant Ishikawa's visit to India in November 2006. The two countries have instituted multiple strategic dialogues involving their Foreign and Defence Ministers and national security advisers, as well as “service-to-service exchanges including bilateral and multilateral exercises.” The Indian and Japanese space agencies are also to cooperate as part of capacity-building efforts in disaster management.

India’s Andaman and Nicobar group of islands lie close to the restive Indonesian province of Aceh. The southernmost of India’s Andaman and Nicobar group of islands is barely 90 nautical miles from Indonesia’s Aceh province. India's decision to go ahead with a tri-service Far Eastern Strategic Command at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands gives it tremendous leverage over the sea lanes heading towards the Strait of Malacca, the gateway to Southeast Asia.

Dr. Manmohan Singh paid an official visit to Japan in 2006. He and then Japanese PM Shinzo Abe affirmed that Japan and India are natural partners as the largest and most developed democracies of Asia, with a mutual stake in each other's progress and prosperity. Indeed, a strong, prosperous and dynamic India is in the interest of Japan, and likewise, a strong, prosperous and dynamic Japan is in the interest of India. Recognising that Asia is emerging as the leading growth centre of an increasingly interdependent global economy, the two countries indicated their desire to pursue a comprehensive economic partnership in the region and nurture sustainable economic growth, social peace and political tolerance in open and cooperative regional frameworks. During Prime Minister Singh’s visit to Japan in October 2008, Japan and India signed the "Joint Statement on the Advancement of the Strategic and Global Partnership between Japan and India", which promotes cooperation in a wide range of fields, and the "Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India", which relates to security cooperation between the two countries.



THE US FACTOR
One of the factors which has led to improved ties between India and Japan is the growing ties between India and the United States. Japan has always been a very close US ally. The Indian Navy in the post 9/11 period, has participated in escort and joint patrolling activities in the Andaman Sea region. It has escorted US ships carrying supplies to Afghanistan for counter-terrorism efforts. India has collaborated with countries like Indonesia in conducting joint patrolling in the Malacca Straits. The events in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States have brought India and the United States together. Terrorism is one factor which has brought countries like the United States, Japan and India closer since all of them have a shared interest in fighting global terrorism. The American decision to lift the nuclear sanctions against India in the post-Pokhran II period and the emerging regional scenario after September 11 has helped to cement a “natural alliance” between India and the United States. The two nations have recognised the prospects for cooperation between them in maintaining a stable balance of power in the Indian Ocean region and its periphery.

NEW DIRECTIONS

When Yukio Hatoyama came to power in 2009, some Indian observers expressed misgivings regarding his foreign policy commitment towards India since India did not find a mention in his party- the Democratic Party of Japan’s (DPJ) election manifesto. However, such doubts were laid to rest when the Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony visited Japan in November 2009. During this visit the two sides agreed to step up defence cooperation, which would include joint military exercises, bilateral and regional cooperation in peacekeeping and disaster relief.

After the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) waiver granted to India in September 2008 and the conclusion of the Indo-US nuclear deal in October 2008, American and French companies have expressed their willingness to use Japanese-made equipment in nuclear power plants which they plan to set up in India. Already, during the visit of the French President Nicholas Sarkozy to India in early December 2010, an agreement was signed between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and French energy-giant Areva for the construction of nuclear power plant (NPP) units at Jaitapur in India’s Maharashtra state. Earlier in June 2010, the Japanese Cabinet had adopted a new growth strategy, which included the promotion of the export of nuclear power generation facilities, an area in which Japanese companies have expertise.

Japan and India indeed are natural allies with no negative historical baggage and no conflict of strategic interests. However, Japan’s wariness to conclude a civil nuclear deal with India has not been well-received in India, particularly when countries like the US, France and Russia have gone ahead and signed nuclear deals with India. India has an excellent non-proliferation record and has declared a voluntary moratorium on nuclear tests. The people-to-people contacts between India and Japan also demand attention. Unfortunately there has not been a regular flow of people between India and Japan. Japanese came to India mainly as businessmen or tourists. Like in the case of Indo-US ties, improving people-to-people ties would surely have a positive spillover effect on the bilateral ties. The studying of Japanese language should be promoted in India and vice-versa. India meanwhile should not shy away from dealing with Japan, just because it may annoy China. As a rising Asian and world power, India needs to engage Japan and should not have any qualms in doing so. It is the mutual interests of both these countries to seize the initiative and take the relationship to the next level.


-Dr. Rupakjyoti Borah is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal University, India. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Centre of International Studies, University of Cambridge, U.K. in 2009. The views expressed are personal.

Notes:
1. Rajamohan, P.G, Rahut, Dil Bahadur, Jacob, Jabin(2008), Changing Paradigm of Indo-Japan relations, ICRIER, New Delhi
2.Nehru, Jawaharlal(1934), “Letter No. 117,” Glimpses of World History, Vol. 2, Allahabad, Kitabistan, pp. 726-7.
3.Nayar, Mandira(2007), India, Japan and world peace at http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/15/stories/2007021508320200.htm

4. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan ( 2009), Japan-India Relations at http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/india/index.html accessed on 23 Sep, 2009

5.Murthy, Narasimha PA(1986), India and Japan: Dimensions of their Relations, ABC Publishing House, New Delhi.

6.New 'strategic partnership' against China, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6968412.stm
honorarium
Bajpai, K. and A. Mattoo, (eds.). 2000. The Peacock and the Dragon. India-China Relations in the 21st Century. New Delhi: Har-Anand.

7.Chellaney, Brahma (2006), Asian Juggernaut : The Rise of China, India and Japan, Harper Collins Publishers.

8. Chellaney, Brahma (2008), Toward Asian power equilibrium, The Hindu, Nov 01, 2008

9. Joint Statement Towards Japan-India Strategic and Global Partnership at http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/india/pdfs/joint0612.pdf

10.See Joint Statement on the Advancement of the Strategic and Global Partnership between Japan and India, at http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/india/pmv0810/joint_s.html