India-Japan ties to focus on new areas

NEW DELHI: India and Japan are looking at the possibility of cooperating on projects in Bangladesh and Myanmar as part of their efforts to work together in third countries, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.

The India-Japan Act East Forum, which focuses on specific projects to modernise India’s northeastern region, also has a larger significance for connectivity with Bangladesh and Myanmar, Jaishankar said during a virtual event to mark the release of a report on the theme “India-Japan: Time to seize the opportunities”.

The recent signing of the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), which covers the reciprocal provision of supplies and services by the defence forces of India and Japan, will enhance stability and security across Asia, he said.

The minister’s remarks assume significance against the backdrop of efforts by several countries, including India, Australia and Japan, to forge new partnerships with countries across the IndoPacific in the face of China’s growing aggressive and assertive activities.

India and Japan, Jaishankar noted, had moved from discussions to practically working together in third countries. “We’ve done a little bit of that in Sri Lanka and I think we’re today trying to see whether we can cooperate and coordinate more closely in Bangladesh and Myanmar,” he said.

While noting that India and Japan were already working closely within the framework of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), East Asia Summit and the Quadrilateral dialogue, he suggested that they could also cooperate in Russia’s Far East and the Pacific Island countries.

Jaishankar described ACSA, which was signed last week, as “a very practical manifestation of our ability and intent of working together”. He added, “I’m very confident that it would both be a big plus for the evolution of the Indo-Pacific vision of both countries [and add] to the stability and security of Asia.”

Both countries are trying to shape the Indo-Pacific narrative to reflect the rebalancing of the world and Asia and bilateral defence and security cooperation has “progressed remarkably fast”, he remarked, adding that Japan is the only country with which India has both an annual summit and a 2+2 dialogue between the defence and foreign ministers.