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Japan’s Takaichi looks to India to counter China in Indo-Pacific
The prime minister is looking to make India an ‘important part’ of Japan’s security transition while boosting economic ties, analysts say
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Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in India this week seeking a deeper economic and security partnership, but analysts say the bigger question is how far New Delhi is prepared to align with Tokyo’s China-focused Indo-Pacific strategy.
Takaichi held talks with her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in Delhi on Thursday, with economic security, strategic cooperation and collaboration on innovative technologies high on the agenda.
Analysts suggest the overarching aim of the three-day trip is to shore up a coalition of nations concerned about China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region, while also handing Takaichi an “easy win” as her domestic support slips because of the economic hardships many ordinary Japanese are experiencing.
Security and the economy were important to both Japan and India, with Takaichi wanting to “accelerate Japan’s security transition and show that India is an important part of that”, Ben Ascione, an assistant professor of politics and international relations at Tokyo’s Waseda University, told This Week in Asia.
“But whether and to what extent India will share those same views remains to be seen.”
Ascione said the thinking behind Tokyo’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” diplomatic campaign was to move beyond Asia-Pacific regionalism by drawing India more firmly into alignment as a counterweight to China.
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