1.4. The Geo-Strategic Dimension

♤ The strategic logic underpinning the cooperation between India and Japan is based on:

♤ China: The recent joint statement, 2017, calls for “a free, open and prosperous Indo- Pacific region where sovereignty and international law are respected, and differences are resolved through dialogue, and where all countries, large or small, enjoy freedom of navigation and overflight, sustainable development, and a free, fair, and open trade and investment system.” This is an obvious reference to Chinese assertion in recent times. The joint statement also endorses the principles on which India decided to sit out the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

♤ The joint statement is also much more direct in condemning North Korea and Pakistan. The statement also hints at the role of China in creating the international problems that North Korea and Pakistan are today. In a way, India and Japan show themselves to be an open and democratic bulwark against the conduct of the Rawalpindi-Beijing-Pyongyang axis.

♤ Japan has been unsure of the US commitment to its allies ever since Donald Trump started his presidential campaign. The ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) capability of North Korea has aggravated Tokyo’s worries about the decoupling of the US-Japan alliance.

♤ India-Japan Act East Forum was launched in 2017 to build synergy between India’s Act East and Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific policies.