Srinivas_K
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Japan sends India friend request
Japan has $1 trillion in reserve, and potentially it can invest $400 billion in India over the next decade or so provided India takes timely decisions and gets land acquisitions, etc. done
China's simultaneous military muscle-flexing along India's 4,000 km long disputed northern land borders and the disputed South and East China seas — including the Japanese controlled Senkaku Islands — has brought India and Japan together. After China, they are the two largest economies in Asia and both rely extensively on sea commerce for their security, trade and energy needs.
Japan has a modern Navy and Coast Guard that can keep the sea lanes of communication (SLOCs) safe in the Pacific ocean. Also, it has $1 trillion in reserve, and potentially it can invest $400 billion in India over the next decade or so, provided of course, India takes timely decisions and gets land acquisitions, etc. done (unlike past cases). This investment can give a boost to the Indian economy, industry and infrastructure.
India has a powerful Navy and a professional and expanding Coast Guard, both of which can keep the SLOCs in the Indian Ocean safe for commerce. Annual exercises between the Navies and the Coast Guards of the two nations have been a positive interaction for the past 15 years. Whilst in service I participated in some of these exercises and visited the ultra-modern Japanese warships, submarines, seaplanes and Coast Guard ships.
After the recent visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to New Delhi, India finally agreed to have a trilateral Malabar Naval exercise in the second half of 2014, with Japan joining the US and Indian Navies for major exercises off Okinawa. The last such trilateral exercise took place in 2007, after which India decided to have only bilateral exercises so as not to annoy China. Only time will tell if this is the beginning of a new "strategic triangle" with India-Japan-US or a "strategic pentagon" with India-Japan-US-Australia-Singapore even as India retains its time-tested strategic ties with Russia.
Following its defeat in World War II, Japan followed a pacifist policy and created "self-defence forces" instead of armed forces. This self-imposed restraint included "no dispatch of Japanese military personnel abroad, no collective defence arrangements, no power projection capability, military budget not to exceed one per cent of GDP, no nuclear weapons, no sharing of military technology, no exporting of armaments, and no military exploitation of space".
Presently only the policy of "no nuclear weapons" remains and here too, many experts believe that Japan could produce a nuclear weapon and its delivery missile at a short notice.
Japan's military has begun regular deployments abroad on peacekeeping missions; a collective defence mechanism exists with the US; power projection capability is being rapidly built up based on helicopter carrier warships, Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) warships, sophisticated Soryu class conventional submarines and large military cargo aircraft.
Military expenditure has been increased by five per cent for the next five years to purchase American stealth F-35 jet fighters and locally built Aegis class (Ballistic Missile Defence) warships. Also under development are stealth fighter jets. Japan has a very impressive capability in space exploration, and most of this has dual use — military as well as scientific.
Japan has recently agreed to share military technology with the US for F-35 fighter jets and improved ship-based BMD systems, while it has exported patrol boats to Indonesia and the Philippines. In July 2013, Japan signed an agreement with the UK for joint research and development, as well as "transfer of technology" and has cleared the large seaplane US-2 for export to India — talks are currently on about induction and joint production of this aircraft in India.
For the past three years, Japan has been operating maritime surveillance aircraft from a military air base in Djibouti. It has proposed to Australia to jointly develop and co-produce an improved version of its Soryu class submarine. If India can be included in this proposal, then the project could mean co-production of 52 such submarines — 12 for Australia, 18 for India and 22 for Japan. A good beginning could be made by inducting, on lease, two each of the US-2 seaplanes and Soryu class submarines, while India could include a Japanese astronaut in its future manned space missions.
Japan's newly created National Security Council has promulgated a national strategy for the next decade and this covers security, energy and official development aid, besides giving primacy to safety of SLOCs. India has been identified as a strategic partner for maritime security and also as a suitable place for Japanese financial investment.
India and Japan have moved closer to reaching an agreement on civil nuclear co-operation. Of equal importance are growing Indo-Japan economic ties which include a "currency swap agreement" of $50 billion. Discussions are also presently underway to open the door for about $400 billion worth of Japanese investments in the following proposed infrastructure projects: Chennai-Bengaluru-Mumbai industrial corridor; Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata industrial corridor; Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train; infrastructure development in India's neglected north-eastern states. We should be happy even if we can get $200 billion FDI from Japan.
The ground has been prepared for the two nations to lay the foundation of a long-lasting, mutually beneficial, strategic partnership. Can India grab this opportunity?
Japan sends India friend request. | The Asian Age
Japan has $1 trillion in reserve, and potentially it can invest $400 billion in India over the next decade or so provided India takes timely decisions and gets land acquisitions, etc. done
China's simultaneous military muscle-flexing along India's 4,000 km long disputed northern land borders and the disputed South and East China seas — including the Japanese controlled Senkaku Islands — has brought India and Japan together. After China, they are the two largest economies in Asia and both rely extensively on sea commerce for their security, trade and energy needs.
Japan has a modern Navy and Coast Guard that can keep the sea lanes of communication (SLOCs) safe in the Pacific ocean. Also, it has $1 trillion in reserve, and potentially it can invest $400 billion in India over the next decade or so, provided of course, India takes timely decisions and gets land acquisitions, etc. done (unlike past cases). This investment can give a boost to the Indian economy, industry and infrastructure.
India has a powerful Navy and a professional and expanding Coast Guard, both of which can keep the SLOCs in the Indian Ocean safe for commerce. Annual exercises between the Navies and the Coast Guards of the two nations have been a positive interaction for the past 15 years. Whilst in service I participated in some of these exercises and visited the ultra-modern Japanese warships, submarines, seaplanes and Coast Guard ships.
After the recent visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to New Delhi, India finally agreed to have a trilateral Malabar Naval exercise in the second half of 2014, with Japan joining the US and Indian Navies for major exercises off Okinawa. The last such trilateral exercise took place in 2007, after which India decided to have only bilateral exercises so as not to annoy China. Only time will tell if this is the beginning of a new "strategic triangle" with India-Japan-US or a "strategic pentagon" with India-Japan-US-Australia-Singapore even as India retains its time-tested strategic ties with Russia.
Following its defeat in World War II, Japan followed a pacifist policy and created "self-defence forces" instead of armed forces. This self-imposed restraint included "no dispatch of Japanese military personnel abroad, no collective defence arrangements, no power projection capability, military budget not to exceed one per cent of GDP, no nuclear weapons, no sharing of military technology, no exporting of armaments, and no military exploitation of space".
Presently only the policy of "no nuclear weapons" remains and here too, many experts believe that Japan could produce a nuclear weapon and its delivery missile at a short notice.
Japan's military has begun regular deployments abroad on peacekeeping missions; a collective defence mechanism exists with the US; power projection capability is being rapidly built up based on helicopter carrier warships, Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) warships, sophisticated Soryu class conventional submarines and large military cargo aircraft.
Military expenditure has been increased by five per cent for the next five years to purchase American stealth F-35 jet fighters and locally built Aegis class (Ballistic Missile Defence) warships. Also under development are stealth fighter jets. Japan has a very impressive capability in space exploration, and most of this has dual use — military as well as scientific.
Japan has recently agreed to share military technology with the US for F-35 fighter jets and improved ship-based BMD systems, while it has exported patrol boats to Indonesia and the Philippines. In July 2013, Japan signed an agreement with the UK for joint research and development, as well as "transfer of technology" and has cleared the large seaplane US-2 for export to India — talks are currently on about induction and joint production of this aircraft in India.
For the past three years, Japan has been operating maritime surveillance aircraft from a military air base in Djibouti. It has proposed to Australia to jointly develop and co-produce an improved version of its Soryu class submarine. If India can be included in this proposal, then the project could mean co-production of 52 such submarines — 12 for Australia, 18 for India and 22 for Japan. A good beginning could be made by inducting, on lease, two each of the US-2 seaplanes and Soryu class submarines, while India could include a Japanese astronaut in its future manned space missions.
Japan's newly created National Security Council has promulgated a national strategy for the next decade and this covers security, energy and official development aid, besides giving primacy to safety of SLOCs. India has been identified as a strategic partner for maritime security and also as a suitable place for Japanese financial investment.
India and Japan have moved closer to reaching an agreement on civil nuclear co-operation. Of equal importance are growing Indo-Japan economic ties which include a "currency swap agreement" of $50 billion. Discussions are also presently underway to open the door for about $400 billion worth of Japanese investments in the following proposed infrastructure projects: Chennai-Bengaluru-Mumbai industrial corridor; Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata industrial corridor; Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train; infrastructure development in India's neglected north-eastern states. We should be happy even if we can get $200 billion FDI from Japan.
The ground has been prepared for the two nations to lay the foundation of a long-lasting, mutually beneficial, strategic partnership. Can India grab this opportunity?
Japan sends India friend request. | The Asian Age
