Yesterday, Japan joined India and the U.S. in joint naval exercises in the Pacific Ocean. The invitation by India for Japanese inclusion was motivated by the deepening relationship between newly elected Prime Minister Narenda Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe (profiled in last blog). Both men recognize the challenge of Chinese territorial and maritime ambitions in the region. For Japan, the challenge is to hold on to remote islands in the Pacific Ocean claimed by both China and Japan. For India, the dispute is over land in the Himalaya Mountains (China and India went to war in 1962 over their Himalayan border) and China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean, seen by India as their "sphere of influence". The result - closer political and military ties between India and Japan. Analyst Uday Bhaskar, a former Indian naval officer, said: "It is a reflection of the new strategic environment where there is a degree of unease in India over Chinese activities. To deal with the rise of China, India is now seeking to shape the environment by building collective capability".
But India's Japanese alliance is only one part of the story. On the surface, all of these competing national interests sound ominous - oh no! Not another conflict in the making! However the mitigating factor is trade which can be a great peacekeeper. For centuries, China and India have held deep-rooted trade connections. And that relationship appears to be strengthening as China has reached out to Prime Minister Modi to expand trade and business ties. In fact, both countries have just signed a deal for a new development bank to challenge the Western - dominated World Bank. Such a bank would ease the flow of goods between the 2 countries and give them the autonomy to develop a common economic zone in the region.
Analyst Raja Menon at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies put it this way: "India is hedging its bets by taking its relations with both China and Japan forward. This is smart diplomacy".
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