India and Japan: News and Discussion

[SSridhar]

Japan says it is committed to civil nuclear cooperation with India ahead of Manmohan Singh's visit - ToI

Ahead of PM Manmohan Singh's visit next week, Japan has announced that it remains committed to civil nuclear cooperation with India despite its concerns over nuclear safety. The negotiations between the 2 {What is this SMS-type reporting ?} countries have remained stalled since the disaster in Fukushima in 2011 leading to speculation that Japan's rethink over its nuclear policy will hurt India's chances of signing a deal for nuclear cooperation with Japan.

Japanese government told TOI that it has decided in favour of having such an agreement with India also because of the faith New Delhi has shown in Japanese nuclear technology despite the meltdown in Fukushima. The decision by the Japanese government has paved the way for formal resumption of negotiations.

It is Japan's responsibility to contribute to strengthening nuclear safety worldwide by sharing with the world its experience and lessons derived from the nuclear accident,'' Japanese foreign ministry spokesperson Masaru Sato told TOI.

Based upon the above, government of Japan has determined that civil nuclear cooperation with India is significant, considering such factors as the strong wish for such cooperation expressed from the Indian side even after the accident in 2011, bilateral relationship between the two countries including fortification of the Japan-India Strategic and Global Partnership, and the need for measures against climate change and global warming,'' he added. He said though that exactly what sort of discussions will take place during Singh's visit is still being determined.

Singh is visiting Japan at the invitation of Japanese PM Shinzo Abe from May 27 to 30. Abe wants resumption of operations of nuclear reactors in Japan, once their safety is confirmed, and is looking to push sale of Japanese reactors to boost Japan's economy which has suffered from multiple recessions in the recent past.

In a rare move, Singh has opted to spend an extra day in Tokyo to interact with Japanese leaders even after his official engagement with Abe administration ends. The decision to extend the visit was taken at the peak of the recent stand off in Ladakh with China, a country locked in serious territorial spat with Japan over Senkaku islands (China calls these Diaoyu) in East China Sea.

Through this visit by Prime Minister Singh, we aim to further deepen and expand strategic relations with India in a wide variety of fields, including politics and the economy,'' Sato further told TOI.

According to sources in the Indian government, Singh, who had to cancel his summit meeting last year with then PM Yoshihiko Noda because of an abrupt announcement of elections, is keen to resume dialogue with Abe who is seen as a leader with a soft spot for India. In his congratulatory message to Abe last year, when the Japanese leader's Liberal Democratic Party party won elections handsomely, Singh described him as a key architect of strategic and global partnership between the 2 countries.

[Agnimitra]

This is bizarre. why would the Japanese do this?

Japanese leader revives dark memories of imperial-era biological experiments in China

For several years during World War II, a branch of the Japanese Imperial Army known as Unit 731 operated a vast biological and chemical research program in the Chinese province of Manchuria. The Japanese researchers conducted blood-curdling experiments on Chinese prisoners, many of them civilians, injecting them with chemicals, mutilating them, removing organs and committing other unspeakable acts that ultimately killed 3,000 and sickened 300,000 more. The unit number, 731, has since become synonymous with some of Japan’s cruelest wartime abuses in Asia.

Those abuses, like the war itself and even the imperial government that launched it, are well in the past. Strangely, though, it is Japan itself that has been resurfacing them lately. A number of right-leaning politicians, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has waffled between issuing German-style apologies for the abuses and suggesting that maybe they weren’t so bad, have been bringing them up. Even in interviews with the Western press, Abe continues to raise the bizarre question of whether Japan’s invasions of several Asian neighbors counted as “aggression.” When three high-level Japanese politicians visited a controversial Tokyo shrine honoring the country’s war dead, including a number of war criminals, they carried a token from Abe. He has also previously argued that the Asian “comfort women” forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops were actually prostitutes, an argument other Japanese politicians still make.

The most recent provocation came Sunday. Abe, visiting a Japanese air force base, climbed into a T-4 training jet for a photo op. He stuck up his thumb and smiled as cameras clicked away. Emblazoned across the side of the jet, right beneath the prime minister’s smiling face, was the number “731.”

I asked Jennifer Lind, a Dartmouth professor who studies Northeast Asia and is a consistently fair-minded observer of the region, what to make of the 731 incident. Here’s what she said in an e-mail response (I’ve added a link to the Hashimoto incident she mentions):
This episode just underscores to Japan’s neighbors, and to the rest of the world, that Japan’s people and government are not aware of the terrible atrocities that they committed against their neighbors in the past.

So even if this was an inadvertent error, the fact that the Japanese military and government could make a gaffe like this shows such a clear lack of awareness and lack of sensitivity about Japan’s past atrocities, and about the feelings of Japan’s neighbors and past victims.
Japan really reached a low point with this episode — it was discussed by a prominent, up-and-coming Japanese politician, Toru Hashimoto, who (referencing the wartime sex slave program) explained that we should understand that stressed-out guys need to rape women [as occurred during the wartime "comfort women" abuses]. I am beyond disgusted, and hope that the good people of Japan are too.

This is a good opportunity to note that many people in Japan, including some politicians, do in fact oppose this sort of behavior and are saying as much. Japan is a populous, vibrant country, and it can’t be defined by the activities of a few nationalists with a habit of offending the rest of Asia. Still, perceptions matter, and those nationalists are playing a disproportionate role in shaping perceptions of Japan and its foreign policy abroad.

[SSridhar]

MMS meet with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe: Can it bring big-ticket projects for India ? - Ajay Dua, Economic Times

Early next week when our prime minister travels to Tokyo to hold his annual parleys with his Japanese counterpart, at play would be four distinctive factors. For the first time in the seven rounds of discussions since 2006, Manmohan Singh would be meeting a Japanese prime minister with whom he has held similar talks before.

More significantly, he would be reviewing global developments and bilateral relations with the head of a country which only about six months ago, and after a gap of several years, gave a decisive mandate to a political party. Thirdly, he would be negotiating with a resurgent Japan, which after years of despondency is being promised its rightful place under the sun, and out of the shadows of both the US and China.

Finally, a more assertive Japan is currently in midst of an experiment of unprecedented levels of fiscal stimulus and monetary expansion to pull itself out of a decade-long morass of economic deceleration and deflation.

Abe is Back

The Japanese polity in recent times has not permitted long tenures in office for any PM. Thin parliamentary majorities, allegations of past misdemeanour and inner-party dissension have meant an under-a-year stint for almost all the incumbent premiers. Consequently in each of the previous six summit-meetings, Singh met a different counterpart, with whom human chemistry had to be built before embarking on issues of substance.

Shinzo Abe, with whom Singh would be dealing with in this trip, was prime minister for about a year till September 2007. Perceived to be pro-India, he had to resign as much for political reasons as for ill-health. But this time, he has come back with a high voter backing. In his earlier stint, he was rather tentative, heavily dependent on the entrenched bureaucracy and the political bosses of the party and in most parts a status-quoist.

Five years away from power seem to have changed him drastically. He is now a man in hurry, bent on delivering all he had promised during his election campaign. By evoking national pride including giving calls for building stronger armed forces capable of defending Japan without undue reliance on the US and vociferously challenging the Chinese claim over the five inhabited Senkaku islands, Abe has been able to stir considerable patriotic fervour.

The affable Abe's boldest action has been to launch a gigantic programme of fiscal stimulus and monetary expansion. He announced a supplementary government spending of $100 billion within days of assuming office and replaced the conservative federal bank governor with someone known to believe in quantitative easing to check falling prices. Consciously the yen has been allowed to depreciate to make Japanese exports more competitive.

The outcome so far has been positive. The annualised GDP growth in first quarter of 2013 was an incredible 3.5%, the stock market has risen by 70% and the yen fallen by a staggering 35% during the past six months. But most important has been the perception of the average citizen, who has once again started believing in spending in anticipation of good days ahead. Raising aggregate demand to increase prices and incentivise investments and business profits is the premise of Abenomics, as the revival strategy has come to be known.

Tap the Private Sector

In this changed environment, Singh could find Abe willing to collaborate in progressing the nuclear civil cooperation agreement, a matter close to the Indian PM's heart. This would be despite the deep chasms within the Japanese society on a sensitive issue accentuated by the Fukushima disaster of 2011. Like Singh, the Japanese PM seems convinced that safe nuclear energy is the way forward and had let this be publicly known in the run up to the elections last winter.

The Japanese who are already the biggest aid-givers to India might also be willing to significantly step up their level of financial assistance. But as in the past this would be more by way of long-term loans for infrastructural projects to be implemented by Indian governmental agencies. Welcome as it might be, it would continue to impose huge debt service obligations on the Indian taxpayer and all the attendant commercial risks would be on the Indian government.

Given that Japanese corporates have successfully demonstrated the capability to develop large infrastructure projects elsewhere in the world, our future bilateral cooperation should envisage the private sector of Japan being financially and otherwise enabled by the two governments to undertake big-ticket projects like setting up of hub ports, developing a network of dedicated freight corridors and modernisation of the Indian rail system.

Through inter-governmental agreements, the Indian government could bind itself to finding the land for these projects and take the responsibility for securing statutory and other governmental approvals besides assuming all the political risks. This should appreciably reduce the imponderables about which the typical Japanese business is invariably worried and help it take a better informed investment decision. A few extra-ordinary measures such as these by both sides might get their respective economies ticking again.



(The writer, a former commerce and industry secretary, is a keen Japan watcher)

[SSridhar]

India should bond with Japan and stop looking over its shoulder at China - Indrani Bagchi, Economic Times

The PM introduced a new element during the Depsang crisis with China to announce he would stay an extra day in Japan. While that in itself would not have scared the Chinese, the growing closeness between India and Japan has added new worry lines to Beijing.

The announcement that he would stay an extra day in Japan is less than the minimum expected response from MMS to the Chinese aggression. Such minor shifts administered in minute increments and inconsistently too, do not amount to much. The trouble is Indian leaders consider these measures as more than adequate (because they feel grossly mistakenly that the Chinese would also exhibit the same timidness as their Indian counterparts). The danger is that they remain contented that they have given a suitable slap n the wrist to the Chinese. These are not even pinpricks for anyone, much less the Chinese. This is then the double whammy for our nation-state. We have not suitably slapped the Chinese and our interpretation of the slap so amuses the Chinese that they now know how India would react funnily to future aggression.

It is time India came out of the closet to strengthen the countries in the region: Indonesia, Vietnam and the real power in Asia - Japan. India should not waste its time looking for Japanese endorsement of Kashmir or Arunachal Pradesh, though many officials will tell you this is why we're kind of reticent with them. {Why haven't we been reticent with the Americans and the British who are the fountainheads of Pakistani terrorism against us and who continuously work against our interests even today ?} Instead, India should be more helpful on the Senkaku/Diaoyu issue - because if China gets away with this one, it will be unstoppable everywhere else.

Indian ships now hang out with the Japanese in their naval base in Djibouti. India should welcome the Japanese in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These islands are crucial, not merely as India's security posts, but also to maintain security of sea lanes on the Straits of Malacca, and freedom of navigation in South China Sea. If India is looking East, Japan is looking West.

The natural meeting point is Myanmar, where both countries have invested heavily to keep this country from falling into a Chinese honey-trap. This is a good story - of two Asian giants helping Myanmar out of the suds, keeping its dignity intact and securing their strategic future. It's a no-brainer, and needs South Block to engage more fully with Japan's foreign office.

Japanese officials complain India doesn't give them the time of day. Singh should change that. {Indian officialdom may exhibit the same characteristic of Jinnah: They need us more than we need them. Let us not squander away our security and well-being at the altar of arrogance.}

Thanks to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and INA, India has a different historical narrative of a military Japan. India may not be called upon to bare its heart on the issue, but India should be clear which side of the debate it should be on. A stronger Japan is good for India.

[member_23629]

Japanese officials complain India doesn't give them the time of day.

The main problem is that Indian foreign ministry is understaffed. We need to double the number of diplomats and have a separate exam for the diplomatic corps rather than the civil service exam. Also, the age of entry should be increased to 35 to make sure people with suitable background like short service commission in the army, RAW, IB, economists, analysts, professors, cops, etc. can get an opportunity to enter the foreign service after a few years in their jobs.

[SSridhar]

varunkumar, what you say may be true, but, there are always innovative solutions when it comes to important friendly nations with which we want to even strengthen our relationship. Fortunately, (or is it unfortunately ?) such countries are not many for us. We are at a very critical phase of our existence. We are at an inflexion point where we have to make the right moves to survive and grow for the 1.2 billion people. Otherwise, the consequences are disastrous for us. Our bureaucracy cannot be lethargic and laid back about this. After a prolonged period of inward looking, we are thrust into the wide wild world of diplomacy where we need to play for high stakes. The typical small increment, moderate approach won't do any good. I am reminded of "For want of a nail, the shoe is lost. For want of a shoe . . ."

[SSridhar]

Will Invigorate Political, Security and Energy ties with Japan: MMS

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday, in statement before his departure on a five-day visit to Japan, said that he proposed to invigorate India's relations with Japan in the political, security and energy spheres.

"We will explore ways to harness the full potential of our comprehensive economic cooperation partnership by intensifying and balancing our two-way trade and investment linkages," the prime minister said.

"There is a growing congruence in our interests and I see this relationship as an essential component of our vision for enduring stability and prosperity in Asia," he added.

Calling Japanese PM Shinzo Abe his "good friend", Manmohan Singh said that he "will build on the momentum imparted by successive summits to the India-Japan strategic and global partnership".

The annual bilateral summit was to be held November last year but was postponed as Japan went in for elections.

"The visit will also allow the two governments to take stock of the progress in flagship projects in our partnership, like the western dedicated freight corridor and the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, and to facilitate bilateral engagement for meaningful and mutually beneficial association," the statement said.

"I also hope to exchange views with PM Abe on important regional and global developments of shared interest," the prime minister said.

The prime minister and his wife are scheduled to meet the Emperor and Empress of Japan during the visit.

The prime minister will meet Japanese political leaders and address captains of Japanese business and industry.

[eklavya]

C Raja Mohan in IE, good article:

Talking Tokyo

C. Raja Mohan : Mon May 27 2013, 03:41 hrs

As Singh looks at India's future relations with China and Japan, a number of realities stand out. First, the relationship with a rising China might indeed be "the most important" one for India in the words of our external affairs minister, Salman Khurshid. While many in Delhi may contest this view, few dispute that the relationship with Japan holds the greatest hope for a rapid and consequential growth. The Ladakh crisis has shown how the unresolved border dispute with China will continue to undermine the best-laid plans for the transformation of Sino-Indian relations. In contrast, there are few negatives in the relationship with Japan. As Tokyo learns from the mistakes of its own China policy in recent decades and confronts Beijing's military assertiveness on territorial disputes, the prospects for the India-Japan partnership have entered a decisive moment.

Second, China is well on its way to become the dominant power of Asia; its leaders have little incentive to share regional primacy with either India or Japan. As the old Chinese adage goes, there can't be two tigers on one mountain. The logic of political realism also suggests China has no reason to treat India as a strategic equal especially when the gap in the capabilities between the two is growing in favour of Beijing. The best offer from China is a subsidiary alliance, in which Delhi must reconcile to Beijing's Asian primacy. Abe, however, recognises that a strong India is one of the best guarantees for a stable balance of power in Asia. The logic of an equitable and mutually beneficial strategic partnership with India is dictated by the new circumstances that Japan finds itself in.

Third, in search of a larger role in the subcontinent and the Indian Ocean, China will inevitably trample upon India's natural sphere of influence. This is not about Beijing's ill will towards India but linked to the very nature of China's rise. Japan, in contrast, has the potential to boost India's role in the Indian Ocean and help extend it to the Pacific Ocean. It is only by hanging together that Delhi and Tokyo can prevent being outflanked by Beijing in their immediate environs.

Fourth, China is not interested in raising the international status of either India or Japan. Beijing had effectively undermined the campaign by Delhi and Tokyo for the expansion of the UN Security Council. China is also reluctant to support India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and Delhi's full integration with the international non-proliferation regime.

Fifth, the idea that China might contribute to India's manufacturing growth and infrastructure development is entirely aspirational at the moment. Japan has already proven its commitment to help India overcome the internal constraints on economic growth. Japan is ready to do much more if Singh is ready to advance India's economic reforms.

A genuine strategic partnership between India and Japan will be a gamechanger for Asian geopolitics. Holding it back until now was the political fecklessness in Tokyo and Delhi. Abe, who has surprised the world by rekindling Japan's samurai spirit, must remove the remaining political obstacles in Tokyo for civil nuclear cooperation and a military partnership with India. Singh, in turn, must demonstrate Delhi is not hostage to a "China-first" foreign policy.

[SSridhar]

Japan, India to discuss military plane sales - ToI

Japan is close to signing an agreement to supply amphibious planes to India, a report said on Monday, in what would be the first sale of hardware used by the military since a weapons export ban was imposed.

During a four-day visit to Tokyo by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, starting later Monday, the two sides are set firm up plans for Delhi to purchase the US-2, a domestically-developed aircraft used by Japan's armed forces.

The sale, reported by the Nikkei business daily, would be the first of a finished product made by Japan's homegrown defence industry since rules were imposed restricting the export of weapons systems and other equipment.

It would also mark a strengthening of the alliance between Japan and India, which both see rising China as a threat to regional stability.

Experts say the aircraft must be classed as for civilian use if it is to comply with Japan's 1967 self-imposed ban on arms exports, part of the post-World War II anti-militarist drive.

The US-2, which was developed by ShinMaywa Industries and has been sold to the Japanese navy at a price of roughly 10 billion yen ($99 million), has a range of 4,700 kilometres (2,900 miles) and can land in seas with waves of up to three metres (nine feet).

"If the US-2 is exported to India for civilian use, that would be the first case of exports of Japanese-developed weaponry used by the defence ministry for civilian use," a trade ministry official in charge of arms sales told AFP.

ShinMaywa opened a sales office in New Delhi last year and has been promoting the plane there, a spokesman for the company said.

"We hear there is some demand from the Indian government but decline to comment further as we have yet to reach a contract," he added. The Nikkei said India is looking to acquire at least 15 of the aircraft.

Japan has sought to expand the market for its defence industry. It has previously exported technology or parts of military hardware but not finished products.

The plane could be deemed to have a non-military — for example, search and rescue — purpose if "friend-or-foe" identification systems were disabled, officials said, making it eligible for export.

In 2011 Tokyo eased the ban on arms exports, paving the way for Japanese firms to take part in multinational weapons projects.

The reported talks on sales "are based on policy decisions made a few years ago that Japan has to support its defence industry by diverting military technology to civilian use for export", said Takehiko Yamamoto, professor of international relations at Waseda University.

Otherwise, major Japanese firms such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries "will not able to maintain their pool of engineers to develop military technology that is essential for the defence of Japan", he said.

Boosting exports from Japan's manufacturing behemoths is a key part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to revive the economy.

In a separate report, the Nikkei said in its evening edition that Abe and Singh would agree on drafting a master plan for new infrastructure in southern India.

The paper said Japan would supply expertise on the plan to build a power grid, roads, railways and ports, mainly in the area that includes Bangalore and Chennai. Both cities are business hubs for Japanese firms such as Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor and Toshiba.

Japan last year said it would provide up to 132.6 billion yen of cheap loans to India, including a 60.7 billion yen loan for a power grid system for Chennai and the surrounding area.

On Wednesday Japan will pledge a fresh 71 billion yen loan for building a subway in Mumbai, the Nikkei said.

Abe and Singh are scheduled to meet on Wednesday for a summit expected to concentrate on trade and investment.

[SSridhar]

India not going slow on ties with Japan: Officials - Economic Times

India today dismissed reports that it had adopted a go slow policy on its relations with Japan in order not to annoy China and said New Delhi is proceeding at the pace determined by the Japanese side.

Reacting to reports that there are issues in Japan on a bilateral civilian nuclear deal with India, official sources said, "India is quite happy to proceed at the pace determined by the Japanese side."

The sources dismissed reports of India going slow on ties with Japan so as not to annoy China as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived here today on a three-day visit to further cement New Delhi's strategic economic, political and security relations with Tokyo.

"There are sensitivities in the Japanese side particularly after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and we respect that," the sources said.

"When Japan is keen to see that whatever it does is in the direction of strengthening non-proliferation regime, India's own view is that civilian nuclear energy cooperation with Japan will only further strengthen non-proliferation regime."

During his visit, Singh will hold exhaustive talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on Wednesday on the entire gamut of bilateral ties with special focus on giving boost to cooperation in defence, economic, energy and other areas.

Singh will meet Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko besides interacting with leaders across the political spectrum and captains of Japanese businesses.

National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, Pulok Chatterjee, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and other senior officials are accompanying Singh.

[SSridhar]

Defence cooperation high on PM's agenda - B.Muralidhar Reddy, The Hindu

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived here [Tokyo] on Monday for a bilateral summit with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at a juncture when the latter has embarked on an ambitious plan to revive his country’s economy seriously hit by stagflation and India is pressing Tokyo to give Indian companies access to its markets to bridge the huge trade deficit.

Deepening of strategic partnership, especially defence cooperation, and a push for early conclusion of a bilateral agreement on civil nuclear cooperation are also high on the agenda of Dr. Singh.

India has invited Japan to hold military exercises in the Indian Ocean. During his three-day visit, he is scheduled to meet the whole spectrum of political and economic leaders in a bid to garner support particularly on the civil nuclear issue as it is a sensitive and divisive issue in the Japanese society.

Negotiations on the civil nuclear cooperation agreement have slowed down after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011. Both sides are looking afresh at some aspects of the possible deal keeping in mind the concerns on safety triggered by the Fukushima incident.

The visit is viewed with interest in view of the recent border tensions between India and China and the subsequent visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. However, Indian officials maintained that the visit of the Prime Minister was purely bilateral in nature. “We are not in the business of containment or encirclement. It does not make sense to hold relations with a country hostage to another.”

In his departure statement, the Prime Minister described Japan as a ‘key regional and global partner for India’ and maintained that there is a growing congruence in the interests of both countries. The visit will also allow the two governments to take stock of the progress in flagship projects such as the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

The Delhi-Mumbai Corridor is a mega infrastructure project of $90 billion, with financial & technical aid from Japan, covering an overall length of 1,483 km passing through six States.

The Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) covers two routes 2,762-km long — the Eastern Corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni and the Western Corridor from Jawahar Lal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai to Tughlakabad, Delhi/Dadri.

Japan is keen on promoting its bullet train project in India.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister will call on Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, who will host a lunch for him. The Emperor will be visiting India though the dates are yet to be worked out.

Dr. Singh will also attend a business luncheon hosted by Keidanren, the Japanese business federation representing over 1,200 companies, and later address a reception jointly hosted by the Japan-India Association, the Japan-India Parliamentary Friendship League and the Friendship Exchange Council.

Coinciding with the visit of the Prime Minister, the fourth meeting of the India-Japan Business Leaders Forum will take place on Wednesday. A joint statement will be made by Dr. Singh and Mr. Abe after the meeting with members of the Forum.

[SSridhar]

Manmohan Singh presents Padma Shri to Japanese Tamil Scholar - The Hindu

In a rare gesture, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday presented Padma Shri to eminent Japanese Tamil language scholar Noboru Karashima for his outstanding contribution in the field of literature and education.

The 80-year-old Mr. Karashima could not be present for the Padma awards ceremony in New Delhi on April 5, 2013 due to health reasons. The awards were given by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Mr. Karashima, presently Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, had spent several years in India as a research scholar on South Indian history and epigraphy at the University of Madras.

Besides amazing people with the ease with which he speaks Tamil, Mr. Karashima is also an acknowledged authority on medieval South Indian inscriptions.

The citation read that Mr. Karashima joined the University of Tokyo faculty in 1964 and occupied the prestigious Chair of South Asian History at the university in 1974, which he held for 20 years.

The scholar received a standing ovation as he received the award from the Prime Minister.

[Suraj]

Memorial to Justice Radha Binod Pal at Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo. Taken May 26 2013.

[SSridhar]

India steps up defence, security ties with Japan - ToI

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday stepped up defence and security ties with Japan, delivering a powerful message to China six weeks after a tense India-China standoff in Ladakh and barely a week after Chinese premier Li Keqiang's visit to India.

Placing Japan at the heart of India's Look East policy in back-to-back speeches to the Keidanren and the Japan-India Association here, Singh said, "India and the world have a strong economic and strategic interest in Japan's success."

He added, "We should intensify our political dialogue and expand our strategic consultations on regions and issues of mutual interest. Our defence and security dialogue, military exercises and defence technology collaboration should grow."

Taking off from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coinage of the "confluence of the two seas" — the Pacific and the Indian Oceans — Singh said he would work with Abe "to strengthen our strategic partnership, impart new momentum to our economic cooperation and deepen our dialogue on shared regional and global interests".

In 2008, Singh signed a security agreement with Japan, which put India, along with the US and Australia as Japan's top three security partners in the world. That also saw the birth of the term "Indo-Pacific" into India's discourse, reaffirming that India's strategic interests stretched to the Pacific Ocean.

Describing India and Japan as "major actors" in this region, the PM said it was the duty of India and Japan to ensure peace, security and prosperity in Asia, turning on its head the China-centric view of Asia. In a thinly veiled reference to disputes with China, Singh said, "Historical differences persist despite our growing inter-dependence, prosperity has not fully eliminated disparities within and between states, and there are continuing threats to stability and security."

Putting forward a three-step plan for cooperation with Japan, the PM said, "We should strengthen regional mechanisms ... reinforce congruence, we should promote wider and deeper regional economic integration and enhance regional connectivity, and we should uphold principles of freedom of navigation and unimpeded lawful commerce in accordance with international law, resolve maritime issues peacefully."

Singh put India on the side of Japan on the Senkaku-Diaoyu issue, without actually spelling it out. This will doubtless be noticed in Beijing without any pleasure. China and Japan have been ratcheting up tensions over sovereignty of these islands.

Singh emphasized that Japan was the only country with which India has 2-plus-2 dialogue: an attempt to ensure convergence between foreign and defence policies. Addressing Japan Inc, the PM said, "India needs Japanese technology and investment. In turn, India offers increasing opportunities for the growth and globalization of Japanese companies for the overall prosperity and growth of Japan."

[SSridhar]

Japan is an indispensable partner in India's quest for stability in Asia - B.Muralidhar Reddy, The Hindu

India and Japan are among the major actors in the India-Pacific region and it is the responsibility of both countries to foster a climate of peace, stability and cooperation and to lay an enduring foundation for security and prosperity. Both nations should strengthen regional mechanisms and forums that would help develop habits of consultation and cooperation, enable them to evolve commonly accepted principles for managing differences, reinforce congruence in the region and allow both to address common challenges, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He was addressing the Japan-India Association, the Japan-India Parliamentary Friendship League and the International Friendship Exchange Council here on Tuesday.

Dr. Singh said:

“We should promote wider and deeper regional economic integration and enhance regional connectivity. This will promote more balanced and broad-based economic development across the region and contribute to a more balanced regional architecture.

“Maritime security across the linked regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans is essential for regional and global prosperity. We should, therefore, uphold the principles of freedom of navigation and unimpeded lawful commerce in accordance with international law, resolve maritime issues peacefully and work together more purposefully to harness the potential of the seas and address common sea-based challenges such as piracy.”

The world had a huge stake in Japan’s success in restoring the momentum of its growth. Tokyo’s continued leadership in enterprise, technology and innovation and ability to remain the locomotive of Asian renaissance were crucial. For almost two decades, Japan’s economy was faced with an unprecedented stagflation and was finding it hard for a formula to change the status quo.

“India’s relations with Japan are important not only for our economic development, but also because we see Japan as a natural and indispensable partner in our quest for stability and peace in the vast region in Asia that is washed by the Pacific and Indian Oceans,” Dr. Singh said.

He noted that India and Japan had increasingly convergent world views and growing stakes in each other’s prosperity and shared interests in maritime security as both faced similar challenges to energy security. {This is a very important statement} “There are strong synergies between our economies, which need an open, rule-based international trading system to prosper. Together, we seek a new architecture for the United Nations Security Council.”

Defence and security dialogue, military exercises and defence technology collaboration between the two countries should grow and both should consult and coordinate more closely on global and regional forums.

On the widening trade deficit, which was heavily skewed in favour of Japan, he argued that greater investment by Japanese companies in India’s large market would be in the economic and strategic interest of both. Such consideration should also guide closer engagement in high-technology commerce, clean energy, energy security and skill development.

Japan’s rise as a modern, knowledge-based industrial power was a source of inspiration to India. India’s gradual, but sustained, economic rise had created new opportunities for both countries to cooperate and work together. India needed Japanese technology and investment. In turn, India offered increasing opportunities for the growth and globalisation of Japanese companies for the overall prosperity and growth of Japan.

[SSridhar]

Japan to sell Bullet-train technology to India - Economic Times

India is seen set to use Japanese bullet train technology for a high-speed connection between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, a report said Wednesday, the centrepiece of a huge package of infrastructure sales.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Manmohan Singh will issue a joint statement at a summit later in the day giving details on a feasibility study for the railway, a newspaper said.

Abe is to offer a sweetener in the form of 101.7 billion yen ($1.0 billion) in yen-based loans to India, the newspaper said, as Tokyo fights off competition from nations such as France, which has the TGV high-speed rail network.

Japan under Abe is embarking on a renewed drive to sell roads, rail and power stations to emerging nations, including India, in a bid to offset lassitude in the domestic economy that has left it treading water.

Earlier this month Abe pledged he would travel the world on behalf of Japan Inc and said he wanted to treble sales of Japan's well-respected infrastructure projects to 30 trillion yen a year.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail line would stretch 500 kilometres (312 miles) at a cost of up to one trillion yen, the newspaper said, adding the two governments plan to finish technological reviews and costings by March 2014.

Abe was also expected to offer around 17.7 billion yen to India to build a conference hall and other facilities at the Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad, along with around 13 billion yen for the Tamil Nadu state government, the Nikkei said.

The pledges will come on top of a March offer of a 71 billion yen loan towards the construction of an underground rail network in Mumbai.

Japanese media have said the two sides will agree on drafting a master plan for new infrastructure in southern India, which could see Japanese know-how used to build a power grid, roads, railways and ports around Bangalore and Chennai.

The sales boom comes as the two countries -- both democracies -- eye the rise of China with increasing unease as Beijing presses territorial claims with growing insistence.

Singh on Tuesday called for the shoring up of military and security ties, Kyodo News said, stressing the commonalities between Tokyo and Delhi.

"We should intensify our political dialogue and expand our strategic consultations on... issues of mutual interest," Singh said in a speech, adding that defence and security dialogue, military exercises and defence technology collaboration should also grow between the two countries, according to Kyodo.

Singh stressed that Japan is the only country with which India has held a "two-plus-two" meeting of foreign and defence ministers, Kyodo said. {For Japan too, India is only the second country, the first being the USA, of a similar 2+2 arrangement. In fact, the suggestion for this setup came from Japan}

Media reports earlier this week said Japan was expected to sell amphibious planes to India in what would be the first sale of hardware used by the Japanese military since a weapons export ban was imposed in the 1960s.

[SSridhar]

PM Meets Japanese Emperor, Discusses Bilateral Ties - ToI

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday called on Japanese Emperor Akihito and discussed bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest.

Singh accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur met the Emperor and the Empress of Japan at the luncheon at Imperial Palace ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

[shyamd]

India, Japan to ink pact on the lines of Malabar naval exercises

Indrani Bagchi, TNN | May 24, 2013, 06.31 AM IST

After the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit, PM Manmohan Singh is expected to visit China later this year as well.

NEW DELHI: India will elevate the Japan security relationship to a new level. During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo on May 27, India and Japan are likely to work out a set of annual bilateral exercises between the two navies off the coast of India on the lines of the Malabar exercises with the US. Japan will reciprocate with another rare gesture: the Japanese emperor and empress, who rarely step out, will make their first-ever visit to India at the end of the year.

In addition, India will be buying the first two amphibious aircraft from Japan — the maiden military hardware being sold to India. This would be the first export of US-2 — manufactured by ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd — and usually regarded as being without peer in the world as a search-and-rescue aircraft. Japan has changed its laws to accommodate the sale of the seaplane to India, which New Delhi sees as a major gesture. The aircraft will be converted as a "civilian" rather than a "military" plane to get around a Japanese export ban on military systems. Israel will install the avionics for Indian use, and the aircraft is believed to be the only one than can operate on rough seas.

While the PM will be staying in Japan for an extra day, it is also likely that his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, will pay a return visit to India before the end of this year. Singh was supposed to be in Tokyo last November, but with the then Japanese PM Noda dissolving Parliament on that day, he was forced to postpone his visit to May. But Abe may keep to his own timetable, and visit India this year.

After the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit, Singh is expected to visit China later this year as well. But having two summit visits with Japan has a special significance. The Indian establishment — having been jolted by China's misadventure in eastern Ladakh recently — appears more than ready to bump up its ties with Tokyo.

[vic]

I think it would be better if Japan buys 1000 Brahmos missiles from us rather than we import another useless gold plated foreign trinket.

[KrishnaK]

A 1000 brahmos to be installed where ? The JMSDF runs entirely on US hardware: radars, combat systems, the whole hog.

[shyamd]

In a significant development, India and Japan have decided to set up a joint working group to decide on the modalities on Japanese amphibian aircraft.

“The joint working group would also explore as to whether we can co-produce the aircraft”, said foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai.

The both leaders decided to accelerate the negotiations for the India, Japan bilateral nuclear deal and Japan also offered its support for India for getting full membership in export control regimes.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-new ... 68051.aspx

[paramu]

Does the Japanese aircraft use any American technology? If yes, we have to say a polite "no thanks" to the Japanese offer.

[svinayak]

Does the Japanese aircraft use any American technology? If yes, we have to say a polite "no thanks" to the Japanese offer.

We may have to accomodate here since this is more than just the product itself.

[sanjaykumar]

I think it would be better if Japan buys 1000 Brahmos missiles from us rather than we import another useless gold plated foreign trinket.


The Indians and perhaps also the Japanese know that. It is symbolic for the benefit of mutual dear friend China.

[SSridhar]

India-Japan join hands to break China's 'String of Pearls' - Diwakar, ToI

Despite Beijing's fulminations, India and Japan on Wednesday lifted their strategic convergence to a new level by vowing to work together for ensuring stability in the Asia-Pacific region in the face of growing muscle-flexing by China.

As Japan pledged financial assistance for big-ticket projects like the Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor and third line of Mumbai Metro and displayed willingness for early conclusion of India's effort for civil nuclear cooperation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe spoke of a partnership of the two democracies against use of force to change the order in Asia: diplomatic shorthand for Chinese attempt to arm-twist Japan and other nations into making territorial concessions.

The two sides agreed to institutionalize joint exercises by their navies and to increase their frequency even as Japan offered its highly advanced sea plane Shinmaywa or US-2 in what is the first instance of Tokyo's willingness to offer a technology that has both military and civilian applications. A very sophisticated craft, the amphibian plane has a very long range and can land and take off in choppy waters.

India's department of atomic energy and Japan's ministry of economy, trade and industry signed a memorandum for cooperation on the development of rare earths industry in India, a significant element of the expanding cooperation considering Japanese dependence on China for critical raw materials.

The new momentum in ties was evident from the statements of both the prime ministers which stood out against the backdrop of the advice of People's Daily, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, that Japan should deal with China in a calm way and not be swayed by "internal and international provocateurs".

In a toughly-worded opinion piece, the daily lashed out at Japanese politicians, calling them "petty burglars" on China-related issues. Surprisingly, the Chinese daily said India and China were able to resolve their standoff over the incursion of People's Liberation Army in Ladakh swiftly, saying, "In the development of Sino-Indian ties, there are several divergence (sic) and contradictions. Some countries see these differences as an opportunity to provoke dissension."

If the comment was intended to deter India and Japan, the effort ended in failure. "It is not only our spiritual and cultural affinities that bring us together, but also our shared commitment to democracy and international peace. The success of our partnership is vital for the prosperity of our people and indispensable for a future of peace and stability in Asia and Pacific region," Singh said in his banquet speech.

He elaborated on that in his statement to the media, "India and Japan are natural and indispensable partners for advancing prosperity in our two countries and for a peaceful, stable, cooperative and prosperous future for the Asia- Pacific and Indian Ocean regions."

Saying that the maritime democracies were obligated to safeguard oceans, Abe said, "India from the west, Japan from the east, the confluence of the two {in China Sea ?} most deep-rooted democracies is already one important part of international common good for the 21st century. I am of a belief that it is important that Japan and India should ensure that Asia remains in peace and prosperity."

In fact, Tonohika Tanaguchi, counsellor in the cabinet secretariat and member of Abe's strategic communication team, said the relationship could grow into an ever-lasting alliance, although he added that the deepening of Indo-Japan partnership was not aimed at any other country. He also spoke about China seeking to grab Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea.

Tanaguchi emphasized that the emperor and empress of Japan had agreed to visit India by the year-end despite their ripe age, and mentioned that their decision to host the prime minister and Gursharan Kaur was an extraordinary gesture, considering that Singh was not the head of state.

The Indian side was not dismayed by Japan refraining from agreeing to a civil nuclear energy cooperation agreement. Foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai noted that the joint statement emphasized India's excellent non-proliferation record: significant in view of Japan's sensitivities, the only country against which nuclear weapons have been used.

Sources said the delay was because of "domestic consultations" and some movement could be expected after elections to the Japanese Upper House got over in the third week of July.

India also committed support to Japan's bid to host the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Simply fantastic. The movement on the nuclear deal will be slow and tortuous. We have to accept that. The warmth of the ties between any two countries can be measured by how willing they are in by-passing protocols.

[SSridhar]

India, Japan to speed-up talks on civil nuclear deal - B.Muralidhar Reddy, The Hindu

Even as a motley group of youngsters outside the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) here chanted, “No to nuclear exports”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe inked a joint statement directing officials of their countries to “accelerate” the negotiations of an Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.

India has reasons to be happy with the wording of the statement though it sets up no timeline and comes with some caveats. The pact, however, is not likely to be inked before the 2014 general election as the UPA would like . Talks on energy cooperation had come to a virtual halt after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster late in 2011.

A senior official in the Japanese PMO, who briefed the Indian media contingent, maintained that the pact could not be reached within two years as the process would involve progress on two different tracks.

The biggest plus for India is that the statement carries no reference to New Delhi signing the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a precondition for Tokyo to consider civil nuclear cooperation. Three days before the summit, an influential Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun had said Tokyo should insist on New Delhi becoming a member of the NPT club before it agreed on the civil nuclear energy agreement.

The statement said Dr. Singh reiterated India’s commitment to its unilateral and voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing and the two Prime Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to working together for immediate commencement and an early conclusion of negotiations on a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally effectively verifiable Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT).

Both sides expressed their commitment to continue working to prepare the ground for India to become a full member in the international export control regimes — the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement.

Observers were of the view that the CTBT was not just India’s problem but one for the United States, while it was only Pakistan that had issues with the FMCT.

Briefing the Indian media, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said the summit took India-Japan relations to a new level. The two largest Asian democracies would, he said, have to play a major role in ensuring safety and prosperity in the region.

The statement noted: “They expressed their resolve to further consolidate and strengthen the Strategic and Global Partnership between India and Japan in the years ahead, taking into account changes in the strategic environment”.

Talking about the first bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy (IN) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), the statement said leaders of both nations decided to establish a Joint Working Group (JWG) to explore modalities for the cooperation on the U.S.-2 amphibious aircraft.

[Vipul]

Abe pledges with Singh to boost Japan-India defence cooperation.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged to increase defence cooperation and push for a deal that would allow the export to India of nuclear reactor parts for civilian use.

The two leaders agreed on Wednesday in Tokyo to conduct a feasibility study on a high-speed rail link between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and welcomed the signing of a ¥71 billion ($699 million) loan for the Mumbai metro line. Abe also pledged ¥30 billion for promoting Indian technology and investment.

Singh “expressed his appreciation to the government and people of Japan for their continued and unwavering support to India’s development,” according to a joint statement. Abe pledged to maintain development aid “at a substantial level.”

Promoting the export of nuclear power and rail technology is part of Abe’s drive to triple infrastructure exports to about ¥30 trillion by 2020 to boost economic growth. He is also boosting regional security ties in the face of China’s growing assertiveness to islands administered by Japan.

India and Japan’s navies held their first joint exercise in June 2012, and Abe and Singh “decided to conduct such exercises on a regular basis with increased frequency,” according to the statement. The two nations will discuss ways to cooperate on using Japan’s US-2 amphibious aircraft designed for air-sea rescue operations.

“We attach particular importance to intensifying political dialogue, strategic consultations and progressively strengthening defence relations including through naval exercises and collaboration on defence technology,” Singh said at the release of the statement.

Abe is marketing Japan’s atomic energy expertise even as the government mulls restarting nuclear plants shut after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

Japan and India forged an economic agreement in 2011 abolishing tariffs on 94% of trade over 10 years. Bilateral trade was about $17.6 billion in 2012, little changed from the previous year, according to the Japan External Trade Organization.

Singh’s visit was initially scheduled for last year, but was postponed after then-Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda called a snap election for December. Manmohan Singh leaves Japan for Bangkok on Thursday

[abhishek_sharma]

The Bomb Didn't Beat Japan... Stalin Did

[SSridhar]

Japan to give USD 174 M as development aid to IIT, Hyderabad - Economic Times

[SSridhar]

The Bomb Didn't Beat Japan... Stalin Did

Abhishek, this could be US propaganda material too as it wishes to diminish its action of tossing nukes on civilians.

In any case, this does not belong here.

[vinod]

The Bomb Didn't Beat Japan... Stalin Did

Wow! Indeed history is written by victors! Nay, dare I say, rewritten as they please as many times as needed.

[Philip]

WW2 was won by the Russians who suffered far more casualties, total losses were 26.6 million both civilians and military, with military dead being 8.7 million.Hitler was stopped at Stalingrad and at Moscow,the turning point in the war.After the retreat back to Germany,it was all downhill from then on.waging war with Russia was his fatal mistake,he never learnt from Napoleon's defeat too.

It is true,that the dropping of the N-bombs on Japan were superfluous .Japan was reeling from defeat after defeat and there were serious attempts to barter a peace with Russia,who were planning an invasion as promised at the Tehran and Yalta Conferences of the Allies.The US was firghtened stioff that allowing Russia a foothold on Japanese soil would threaten it post war ,and wanted to grab Japan before the invasion or capitualtion by the Japanese.The peace negotiations with Russia had to be sabotaged.The US also wanted desperately to test the bomb on human populations and see the damage that resulted and collect the relevant data.It is why two N-bombs were dropped ,when the effect of the first was ghastly enough for a Japanese surrender.In such manner did the US beat the Soviet Union to squat on Japanese territory,double-crossing its ally and adding monstrously to the suffering of the Japanese people who were trying to surrender.

In similar fashion did the US send into India so-called "doctors" and CIA agents masquerading as NGOs in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas disaster.I was astonished at the speed with which one American who used to travel to India regularly on behalf of an NGO appeared just days after the event.The army of Yanqui do-gooders actually collected blood samples,etc.,as this was the equivalent to a chemical warfare attack,last seen used openly in WW1 (apart from Saddam's use of it against the Kurds).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_of_Japan

While publicly stating their intent to fight on to the bitter end, the Empire of Japan's leaders, (the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War, also known as the "Big Six"), were privately making entreaties to the neutral Soviet Union to mediate peace on terms favorable to the Japanese. The Soviets, meanwhile, were preparing to attack the Japanese, in fulfillment of their promises to the United States and the United Kingdom made at the Tehran and Yalta Conferences.

[abhishek_sharma]

The Bomb Didn't Beat Japan... Stalin Did

Abhishek, this could be US propaganda material too as it wishes to diminish its action of tossing nukes on civilians.

In any case, this does not belong here.

Yeah, it sounds like propaganda. Sorry for the OT post.

[ramana]

I wonder if NSC Bose's INA and Imperial Japan alliance is being resurrected now.

All the ghosts that rose to prevent it will again re-emerge?

[SSridhar]

I wonder if NSC Bose's INA and Imperial Japan alliance is being resurrected now.

All the ghosts that rose to prevent it will again re-emerge?

ramana, that was built on a narrow convergence whereas the emerging India-Japan relationship is more deep-rooted, wide-ranging, natural and state-to-state. Besides, it is blessed by the US, at least at this point of time. In fact, Abe is talking of a 'diamond' involving US, Japan, India and Australia. Even among other nations in the region such as Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam, there is a sense of quiet approval over the emerging alliance. We have to be aware of the opposition coming from the communist blocks in our country, increased naxal activity and insurgency in the NE. The TSP-PRC nexus will grow and that is axiomatic.

[kmkraoind]

By Kureel in Niticentral.

[arun]

The Bomb Didn't Beat Japan... Stalin Did

Wow! Indeed history is written by victors! Nay, dare I say, rewritten as they please as many times as needed.

Be that as it may be , the article does expose Japan’s hypocrisy in going all holier than thou when it came to India’s nuclear weapon tests and now in the tardy Japanese pace in concluding a civil nuclear agreement with India while sheltering under the US nuclear weapon umbrella stationed on Japanese soil in Okinawa besides elsewhere :

Second, it appealed to international sympathy. Japan had waged war aggressively, and with particular brutality toward conquered peoples. Its behavior was likely to be condemned by other nations. Being able to recast Japan as a victimized nation -- one that had been unfairly bombed with a cruel and horrifying instrument of war -- would help to offset some of the morally repugnant things Japan's military had done. Drawing attention to the atomic bombings helped to paint Japan in a more sympathetic light and deflect support for harsh punishment.

Methinks yon Japanese doth protest too much about nuclear weapon matters .

[SSridhar]

arun, times change and interests change. At one point of time, nuclear weapons were morally repugnant to us as well. We cannot forever live in the past and cling to some event that happened earlier, so long as that country does not have an aggressive and evil eye on us.

[shyamd]

One thing to keep an eye out for is intel cooperation and whether the Japs are offering us access to this pool:

Aus and Jap formed an alliance in 2011

Japan and Aus have signed a major intel agreement to contain PRC. PRC has been acting quite aggressively and undergoing some expansionism/assertivist behaviour.

The 2 have agree to "pool" their intelligence. Aus has agreed to share some SIGINT (probably the ECHELON) and other PRC related stuff. Apparently the worry is that once Rudd who is pro PRC comes in, this deal may end. India should get into this deal, we can get immense intel.

Jap SF will receive training from the AUs SAS. There was more to this deal, but its slipped out of my head.

[Prem]

http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?o ... 9&catid=39
Japan, India split over policies toward China

Though India has an interest in the Asia-Pacific region, it is reluctant to adopt security policies that target a specific country, writes seima oki Although Japan and India have agreed to reinforce bilateral security cooperation, the two countries still have differing views on forging an international coalition to handle China’s military expansion.Japan wants to create an international coalition together with India, the United States and other nations, to put pressure on China. However, New Delhi is a seeking multilateral foreign policy that places equal importance on its relations with not only Japan and the United States, but also China, Russia and the Middle East.On Tuesday evening, a day before their summit meeting, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie invited visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur to the prime minister’s official residence for a small, intimate dinner meeting.
The invitation was unusual because another official dinner was held Wednesday evening, and it is rare for Japanese prime ministers to host the same foreign guests for two consecutive days.
Political observers said it was an indication of Abe’s high expectations for India.
The prime ministers’ joint statement also included many points regarding bilateral security cooperation.In the statement, Abe and Singh said their two countries would regularly hold joint exercises between the Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Indian Navy, as well as begin talks for the export of the MSDF’s US-2 amphibious plane to India. They also said they would cooperate to better counter cyber-attacks, ensure safe sea lanes and bolster both countries’ defense and coast guard authorities.
The points put forward in the joint statement clearly indicate they were drafted with China’s increasing maritime presence in mind.In the East China Sea, Japan and China continue to dispute the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
Submarines assumed to belong to the Chinese Navy have frequently appeared in Japan’s territorial waters, putting pressure on Japan.China has also increased its presence in the Indian Ocean.
In February, a Chinese state-run firm obtained management rights to a port in Pakistan, in addition to providing assistance in building ports in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.China’s “String of Pearls” strategy has progressed in areas surrounding India.In Kashmir, Chinese and Indian armies were locked in a stand-off from mid-April to early May, creating tension in the region.China has allocated about 12.3 trillion yen for its 2013 defense budget, much higher than Japan and India’s combined budget of about 8.3 trillion yen.As it would be difficult for Japan or India to unilaterally take action against China, the two countries have thus adopted a strategy of deterring China by cooperating on security matters.India also has a deep interest in the Asia-Pacific region and a forward-looking attitude toward boosting cooperation through joint military drills and other means. However, India is reluctant to adopt security policies that target a specific country.Instead, India expects that such cooperation will help introduce technology that will improve its military capabilities.According to a senior official at India’s foreign ministry, the country’s top priority is stability in the Indian Ocean.While cooperation with the United States and Japan is essential, the official added that it does not intend to participate in Japanese and US foreign policies that aim to create a network to surround and deter China.