India and Japan will promote economic security, semiconductor and alternative supply chains rather than bond over the growing bilateral defense relationship during Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi’s ongoing three-day visit to India.
The main focus of the visit is to take economic ties to a new level as Tokyo raises investment in India to US$61 over the next decade and push bilateral trade beyond the current US$27.5 billion. Apart from being an associate member of QUAD, Japan is among the largest investors in infrastructure projects in India including the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, and another high-speed train from Delhi to Kolkata via Varanasi is soon expected.
While the two leaders will discuss the situation in the Middle East with Iran using the Strait of Hormuz as leverage to secure maximum advantage from the United States, the security situation in the South China Sea due to the maritime expansion of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will also feature in the meeting. Prime Minister Takaishi has already taken bold steps to secure Japan by asking lawmakers to review the pacifist Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution apart from deploying Tomahawk missiles aboard Japanese destroyers. It was also keen to deploy surface-to-air missiles in Okinawa to deal with any emergency in Taiwan.
Although the focus of the visit is economic, bilateral defense ties will also be strengthened even though Japanese equipment is expensive. However, India and Japan will sign an agreement under which the Indian Navy will acquire the Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) to enhance the stealth capability of warships in cooperation with BEL.
While the main agenda will be semiconductor manufacturing and resilient supply chains, Japan is also keen to help India develop a transshipment hub as part of the larger Project Nicobar in order to secure the Indo-Pacific region.
Takaishi is seen as a disciple of Prime Minister Modi’s late friend Shinzo Abe, and is known to be outspoken when it comes to Japan’s security unlike left-liberal prime ministers of the past. In this context, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Takaishi have a similar line of thinking when it comes to countries of common security interest to both countries. This visit is expected to take the partnership between India and Japan to the next level, where more high-tech projects will be announced and each other’s global and regional security concerns will be understood.
