Amid the backdrop of Chinese aggression in Ladakh, the India-Japan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled for early next month.
When the two leaders will meet as the dragon breaths fire, key military logistic pact, Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) are expected to be signed. Also, there will be a discussion on the possibility of some Japanese manufacturing units shifting to India.
The summit was supposed to be held last year, in Guwahati, but was cancelled due to protests against the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam.
As the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in India’s East Ladakh sector has still not de-escalated and is also being very aggressive in Japan’s Senkaku Islands, the two leaders will hold serious talks. Also, part of the discussion will be the South China Sea and the Quad, the quadrilateral coalition of four countries – India, Japan, Australia and the US.
For China, the Quad is a serious challenge to its economic, political and military operations in South-East Asia as these four countries can dominate the sea lanes.
India and Japan will extend support and logistics to each other’s military and New Delhi already has a similar agreement with other two Quad members, Australia and the US. Also, the official invitation to Australia to join the important Malabar naval exercises later this year is a mere formality.
China for a very long time managed to hold India from inviting Australia to be part of the Quad. However, after the Galwan valley incident, India has decided it no longer cares if it antagonises China.
As India and Japan get closer militarily, Modi and Abe will also try to further economic cooperation, opening doors to Japanese manufacturing and take Tokyo’s support in ramping up port infrastructure in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Japan embraced a pacifist constitution after the end of the Second World War, however, in the last decade, Japan has started to arm itself so it can defend its interests from China. Also, PM Shinzo Abe is also under a lot of pressure from his own Cabinet members to adopt a tough line with China.