India and Japan will cement economic security, semiconductors, alternate supply chains rather than peg the close partnership around the growing bilateral defence relationship during Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s on-going three day visit to India.
The big focus of the visit is going to ramp up economic ties to a new level with Tokyo raising the level of investment into India to promised USD 61 over the next decade and pushing the bilateral trade beyond the present USD 27.5 billion. Apart from being a co-member of the QUAD, Japan is among the largest investor into India infrastructure projects including Bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad with another bullet train from Delhi to Kolkata via Varanasi projected soon.
While the two leaders will discuss the situation in the Middle-East with Iran using the Straits of Hormuz as a leverage to secure maximum advantage out of US, the security situation in South China Sea due to PLA Navy expansion will also figure in the meeting. PM Takaichi has already made bold moves to secure Japan by asking the lawmakers to review the pacifist article 9 of Japanese Constitution apart from deploying Tomahawk missiles onboard Japanese destroyers. She has also ensured that surface to air missiles are also deployed in Okinawa to tackle any Taiwan emergency.
Even though the focus of the visit is economic, the bilateral defence ties will also be strengthened even though the Japanese equipment is prohibitively expensive. However, India and Japan will sign an agreement for the Indian Navy to acquire Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) to boost warship stealth in collaboration with BEL.
While the main agenda will be semiconductor manufacturing and resilient supply chains, Japan is also keen to help India to develop a trans-shipment hub as part of the Greater Nicobar Project in order to secure the Indo-Pacific.
Seen to be a protégé of PM Modi’s late friend Shinzo Abe, Takaichi is known to be upfront when it comes to Japan’s security unlike the Left-Liberal PMs of the past. It is in this context, that PM Modi and PM Takaichi have a similar line of thinking when it comes to countries which are of mutual security concern to both the countries. The visit is expected to take India-Japan partnership to the next level with more hi-tech projects to be announced and understanding each other’s global and regional security concerns
