Andrew Korybko |
The Japanese premier met his Indian counterpart earlier this week during their yearly summit, and while nothing overly noteworthy in and of itself came out of the meeting, the cumulative progress that it made in advancing the Indian-Japanese Strategic Partnership, particularly as it relates to “countering China”, deserves to be spoken upon a bit more at length.
China in working towards de-dollarization and the construction of alternative institutions, but that it will continue practicing a protectionist approach against certain Chinese imports
The main outcome of this visit was that Japan will cooperate in building a bullet train along India’s west coast from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. This is an important development because it speaks to the high level of strategic economic coordination between the two sides in terms of infrastructure construction.
The deepening trust and working relations that come out of this initiative could help set the standard for other joint projects elsewhere, particularly along the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor – also known as the “Freedom Corridor” – that India and Japan plan to construct as a counterweight to China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity.
Read more: Will OBOR help China to overcome its economic crisis?
The Abe-Modi Summit was preceded by a meeting between their Defense Ministers in Tokyo one week prior where India and Japan agreed to work more closely together on this front, which is significant
In this connection, it’s worthwhile to touch upon the enhanced military coordination between the two Great Powers too, specifically in terms of their anti-submarine efforts. The Abe-Modi Summit was preceded by a meeting between their Defense Ministers in Tokyo one week prior where India and Japan agreed to work more closely together on this front, which is significant because it can give New Delhi’s military forces a more regular presence in the East and South China Seas just as it could do the same for Tokyo’s in the Bay of Bengal.
This latter region is becoming an increasingly strategic battleground in the competitive connectivity framework between these two Great Powers and China as they seek to mitigate Beijing’s influence in this irreplaceable transit region of its maritime New Silk Road.
Although not officially connected to the Abe-Modi Summit, it’s very symbolic that India chose this week to also announce that it will be imposing a so-called “countervailing tax” on China’s stainless steel exports to the country, especially seeing as how this comes just one week after the BRICS Summit where international media largely assumed that the two sides had reached some kind of grand compromise with one another.
Read more: Pak-China cooperation strong at OBOR summit: What is India missing?
The cumulative progress that it made in advancing the Indian-Japanese Strategic Partnership, particularly as it relates to “countering China”, deserves to be spoken upon a bit more at length
What actually happened is that India decided to continue its financial and currency cooperation with China in working towards de-dollarization and the construction of alternative institutions, but that it will continue practicing a protectionist approach against certain Chinese imports. This contrasts with India’s approach to enhancing all-around trade relations with Japan and other Chinese rivals.
Reflecting on the recent direction and depth of Indian-Japanese relations, it’s reasonable to describe the Abe-Modi Summit as an Anti-OBOR one designed to bring together both Great Powers’ individual infrastructure, military, and economic efforts at “containing China” into a collective and comprehensive whole for more powerfully countering the New Silk Roads.
DISCLAIMER: The author writes for this publication in a private capacity which is unrepresentative of anyone or any organization except for his own personal views. Nothing written by the author should ever be conflated with the editorial views or official positions of any other media outlet or institution.
Andrew Korybko is a political analyst, journalist and a regular contributor to several online journals, as well as a member of the expert council for the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the People’s Friendship University of Russia. He specializes in Russian affairs and geopolitics, specifically the US strategy in Eurasia.The views expressed in this article are author’s own. It does not reflect Global Village Space Editorial policy.