Indo-Japan relations critical to stability of Indo-Pacific region in future, say experts

Relations between India and Japan, two countries whose foreign policy lays thrust on dialogue and consensus, would be pivotal for the future stability of the Indo-Pacific region, speakers at a panel discussion said here on Friday.

While the two countries share close economic and strategic relations, it is pertinent that collaborations in the areas of manufacturing, technology exchange, semiconductor research, and Artificial Intelligence, will only lead to closer ties. Both countries share several commonalities, including an interest in building a multilateral Asia, the speakers further said.

The panel discussion on ‘India-Japan Relations in a Turbulent Indo-Pacific’ was organised by the Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IJCCI), in association with the Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Madras (UoM).

The way forward

Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu, said the way forward for India would be threefold — focus on continued economic growth to mobilise resources for strategic investments; ensure India’s peaceful rise for all-round peace in the region; and India, Japan, and other middle powers to adopt a “G-Minus-Two” approach (as against U.S. President Donald Trump’s revival of the G2 concept, an informal, bipolar framework between the U.S. and China) as a counterbalance.

“When India looked at the region, the question is whether we see ourselves as a close ally of any of the superpowers or we see ourselves as a pillar of the emerging global order,” Dr. Stanly remarked about India’s foreign policy.

Sridhar Krishnaswamy, Visiting Professor and Scholar-in-Residence, Sai University, said that if ever a conflict broke out in the Indo-Pacific region, it would make the conflict in West Asia look like “a Saturday afternoon school picnic”, what with trillions of dollars’ worth of global trade flowing through the Strait of Malacca, the Bab el-Mandeb, the Suez Canal, the Andamans, and the South China Sea. “Is the United States as committed [to the Indo-Pacific region] as it was during the Cold War in the Indo-Pacific,” he asked.

Persistent flashpoints

M. Uma Maheswari, Head, Department of Politics and Public Administration, UoM, said persistent flashpoints such as extremism in south and southeast Asia, instability in the Korean Peninsula, and territorial dispute in the South China Sea all the way to the Taiwan Strait continue to shape the dynamics of the region.

Strait of Malacca

Setting the agenda, Suguna Ramamoorthy, Secretary General, IJCCI, said the Strait of Malacca, which links the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, handles more than one-fifths of global maritime traffic and an even greater share of energy supplies, industrial components, and manufacturing goods. She also outlined its importance in global trade and its vulnerabilities.

Rita John, Registrar, UoM; S. Armstrong, Member, Vice-Chancellor Convener Committee, UoM; Maithili Sane, Assistant Professor, PG Department of International Studies, Women’s Christian College; and S. Parthiban, Assistant Professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, UoM, also spoke.