- Home
- Prelims
- Mains
- Current Affairs
- Study Materials
- Test Series
What are the main drivers fo India-Japan Strategic and Global Partnership?. (UPSC CSE Mains 2022 - Political Science and International Relations, Paper 2)
- The India–Japan “special strategic and global partnership” has been described as one that will define the Indo-Pacific and shape the Asian century. Former PM of Japan Shinzo Abe once stated that India - Japan bilateral relations can become more important than that of Japan - USA and Japan - Australia bilateral relations. India - Japan bilateral relations recently completed its 70th year. It started in the year 1952, with the sense of former PM Pt. Nehru gifting an elephant as a ray of hope to a war-torn country like Japan after the end of Second World War.
- The India Japan relationship was elevated to ‘Global and Strategic Partnership‘in 2006. Strong bilateral trade and aid relations have expanded toward security-based relations. The relationship has been pursued with a new vigour since the visit by the Japanese Emperor and Empress in 2013 and the PM Shinzo Abe in January 2014. The relationship was further elevated to ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership‘in September 2014.
The main drivers of India-Japan Strategic and Global Partnership include:-
-
- Wide range of interests including regional cooperation, maritime security, global climate, and UN reforms.
- Both India and Japan also share several common ideals like democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, in addition to the complementarities that bind their economies.
- India is seeking massive investments in its infrastructure sector and Japan is a major investor. Japan’s technological and economic prowess could accelerate India’s development by transforming its infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.
- India is a big market for Japanese companies: Japan’s interest in India is increasing due to a variety of reasons including India’s large and growing market and its resources, especially the human resources.
- Indo-Pacific and Quad: Sharing convergent interests, both countries are strongly committed to freedom of navigation and over flights and unimpeded commerce in the open sea which is important for the stability and security of the Indo-Pacific region.
- India’s Act East Policy and Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy” converge in NER as a critical region, where, and both countries are keen to extend their cooperation to the larger Indo-Pacific region—including the African continent.
- The rise of China has been an important factor, while India’s growing closeness with the US has also played a role, as the US and Japan already have a close alliance.