India-Japan Partnership to be Enhanced

Japan is expected to step up efforts to help India break out of its economic deadlock, according to the scholar. As the largest beneficiary of Japan’s foreign aid, he said, India will receive Japan’s help, primarily in infrastructure improvement and traffic network expansion.　　

The two countries are also planning on an Asia Africa Growth Corridor, in what Lin believes to be an attempt to rival China’s Belt and Road initiatives. Their agenda against the Belt and Road is revealed particularly by Japan’s proactive involvement in the infrastructure expansion in Northeast India, Lin said. Japan and India are planning an infrastructure project to connect India to other Southeast Asian regions via Myanmar, he said.　　

As part of its Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy, Japan will very likely persuade India into agreeing to Australia’s participation in the India-US-Japan Malabar joint naval exercise, Lin said. However, India may hesitate as the country finds it inappropriate not to take China’s feeling into consideration, the scholar said.　　

Lin, however, believes that China need not panic about the situation at the moment. Security cooperation is believed to come second to economic considerations while India seeks closer ties with Japan, according to the scholar. As long as the US-India and China policies remain unchanged, he said, neither Japan nor India are likely to adopt a hostile strategy against China.　　

Nor will China have to worry about the entrance of more Japanese companies into the Indian market, Lin said. What India is waiting to see is whether China and Japan will compete with each other in the Indian market so that it can have its bread buttered on both sides, the scholar noted. It will actually do China good to have Japanese companies help improve the investment environment in India, he said.