Japan: Kishida to announce new Indo-Pacific strategy, seek India’s support

• The proposal will expand Japan’s support for growing economies, particularly those in the area.
• Japan will seek India’s backing to work with Tokyo to counter China’s expanding influence in the region.
• He believes that India’s crucial geopolitical location will play a significant role.

Japan‘s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, will launch a new plan for an open and free Indo-Pacific in New Delhi on Monday and will seek India’s backing to work with Tokyo to counter China’s expanding influence in the region.

According to Japanese officials, the proposal, which will be presented during Kishida’s two-day visit to India, will expand Japan’s support for growing economies, particularly those in the area.

While both face risks from a dominating China, India, and Japan have been deepening their connections, particularly in defense and strategic matters.

Kishida’s choice to present his new strategy during the two countries’ annual meeting underscores Tokyo’s regard for New Delhi as a significant actor in the Indo-Pacific region.

According to Japanese authorities, Kishida believes that India’s crucial geopolitical location in the Indian Ocean, as well as its status as the world’s largest democracy, will play a significant role in realizing his vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

India and Japan, along with the US and Australia, are members of the so-called Quad, which aims to balance China’s growing clout in the area.

Members of the Quad claim they are not a military alliance, but they will participate in the annual Malabar naval wargaming exercise in Australia this year, which will also host the Quad summit in May.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a tight relationship with Modi, and Japanese sources say Kishida is eager to form a similar bond.

Kishida is likely to seek India’s support for the new plan, which will include efforts Japan will take to improve cooperation in nations that adhere to the values of peaceful resolution of disputes and freedom of navigation, during his talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

According to officials, this is also in the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s strong maritime posture.

While Japan has been pressing for harsher sanctions against Russia, India, which is chairing the G20 this year, has been attempting to keep the meeting from being used for such an announcement.

India has refused to blame Russia for the war, instead seeking a diplomatic settlement and increasing its purchases of Russian oil.

Kishida also wants to boost the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries’ maritime warning and surveillance capabilities, and he expects that India will actively collaborate with Japan to create infrastructure such as ports in Asia and Africa.

Modi and Kishida met three times in 2022, including during Abe’s funeral, and will meet three more times on the margins of the G20, G7, and Quad summits in 2023.

The two nations enjoy a comprehensive economic connection, with the trade of $20.57 billion in 2021-2022, with India importing $14.49 billion in Japanese goods.

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