- The visit by the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, to India, in March 2023, during which he engaged with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on global and bilateral issues, focused on cooperation between the G7 and the G20 (Japan and India hold their presidencies, respectively).
- Besides this, Mr. Kishida also unveiled “Japan’s New Plan for a Free and Open IndoPacific” (FOIP) and exchanged views about deepening the “Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership”.
- The New Plan for the FOIP lays stress on the need to uphold the rules based order and respect each other’s territorial sovereignty.
- Japan’s new policy focuses on the numerous challenges facing the IndoPacific such as the Ukraine war, food security, and cyber space in addition to issues such as ensuring the freedom of the seas, and connectivity among others.
- There is a realisation that Japan needs to do much more in the region, and towards this, ‘four pillars of cooperation’ under the new FOIP have been outlined:
- principles for peace and rules for prosperity;
- addressing challenges in an Indo Pacific way;
- multilayered connectivity; and
- extending efforts for security and safe use of the “sea” to the “air”.
- In the first pillar, it has been pointed out that vulnerable countries usually suffer the most if there is an erosion in the rule of law.
- Therefore, Japan wants to engage in economic development programmes such as promoting the implementation of the G20 Principles for “Quality Infrastructure Investment”.
- The second pillar talks about “expansion of cooperation for the FOIP by incorporating realistic and practical projects in a wide range of areas, such as climate change, food security, global health and cybersecurity”.
- Japan has been working for long on connectivity projects bilaterally with many countries in the Indo Pacific region.
- Under the third pillar, the three areas identified for introducing more such projects are Southeast Asia, South Asia and the South Pacific/Pacific Island countries.
- Japan has made a new commitment of $100 million towards the Japan ASEAN Integration Fund
- Under the fourth pillar, Japan will help in strengthening the capabilities of maritime law enforcement agencies in other countries.
- Towards these objectives, Japan will implement the “strategic use of Official Development Assistance (ODAs)”, revise the Development Cooperation Charter and set forth guidelines for ODA for the next 10 years, and introduce an “offer type” cooperation and a new framework for “private capital mobilization type” grant aid.
- Mr. Kishida also announced that Japan would “mobilize” a total of more than $75 billion in public and private funds in the Indo Pacific region by 2030 in infrastructure development.
- A Japan deeply invested in Indo Pacific stability and prosperity is good news indeed for India and the wider region
