Abstract
This chapter examines American interests in the India–Japan strategic partnership and the India–Japan–United States trilateral relationship. Limaye suggests that the United States would benefit from some relief from its heavy defence burden in the Asia-Pacific. Improving ties between India and Japan as well as the triangular defence relationship with the United States would help accomplish this. The author also stresses the effect of domestic political changes in these three countries on policy trajectories and the internal bilateral tensions between each. Another key predicament relates to the divergent approaches adopted by Japan and the United States that impact India’s integration into the regional economic order—notably, its entry into the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization. With this in view, the chapter offers the long-term recommendation that India, Japan and the US work out ways to coordinate on commercial ties—including international and regional economic rules, norms and institutions—to build a sustainable partnership to complement their expanding defence relationship.
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Notes
- 1.
See Robert Sutter and Satu P. Limaye, America’s 2016 Election Debate on Asia Policy and Asian Reactions, East West Center, October 2016, http://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/americas-2016-election-debate-asia-policy-and-asian-reactions.
- 2.
- 3.
See, for example, Daniel Twining, “Abe, Modi Exercise Their Right to Help Shape Asia’s Future,” Nikkei Asian Review, December 10, 2015, http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/Abe-Modi-exercise-their-right-to-help-shape-Asia-s-future; Robert Manning, “Abe’s India Visit Highlights Asia’s Security Ties,” Nikkei Asian Review, December 12, 2015, http://asia.nikkei.com/Viewpoints/Viewpoints/Abe-s-India-visit-highlights-Asia-s-security-ties; Editoral, “Asia’s Axis of Freedom India Japan ,” Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/asias-axis-of-freedom-1450315204.
- 4.
John Kerry, Secretary of State, Remarks with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, September 29, 2015, New York, http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/09/247485.htm.
- 5.
“Asia’s Axis of Freedom,” The Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/asias-axis-of-freedom-1450315204.
- 6.
Richard Fontaine, “Where Is America in Japan and India ’s Plans for Asia?” The National Interest, December 28, 2015, http://nationalinterest.org/feature/where-america-japan-indias-plans-asia-14741.
- 7.
Ashton Carter, Remarks on “Asia-Pacific’s Principled Security Network” at 2016 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, June 4, 2016, https://www.defense.gov/News/Speeches/Speech-View/Article/791213/remarks-on-asia-pacifics-principled-security-network-at-2016-iiss-shangri-la-di/.
- 8.
See Bruce Stokes, “How Asia-Pacific Publics See Each Other and Their National Leaders,” Pew Research Center, September 2, 2015, http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/09/02/how-asia-pacific-publics-see-each-other-and-their-national-leaders/. On American and Japanese views of each other see “Americans, Japanese: Mutual Respect 70 Years After the End of WWII,” http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/04/07/americans-japanese-mutual-respect-70-years-after-the-end-of-wwii/. And on American and Indian views of each other see America Divided: Political Partisanship and US Foreign Policy: Results of the 2015 Chicago Council Survey of American Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy, http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/sites/default/files/CCGA_PublicSurvey2015.pdf.
- 9.
See, for example, Council on Foreign Relations Task Force Report , Working with a Rising India : A Joint Venture for the New Century, November 2015, http://www.cfr.org/india/working-rising-india/p37233.
- 10.
See for example, Department of State, United States–Japan–India Trilateral , December 19, 2011, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/12/179172.htm.
- 11.
Richard Fontaine, “Where Is America in Japan and India ’s Plans for Asia?” The National Interest, December 28, 2015, http://nationalinterest.org/feature/where-america-japan-indias-plans-asia-14741.
- 12.
John Hemmings, “Don’t Constrain an Expansionist China Alone. Try Trilaterals,” December 2, 2015, http://nationalinterest.org/feature/dont-constrain-expansionist-china-alone-try-trilaterals-14479.
- 13.
Daniel Twining, “Abe, Modi Exercise Their Right to Help Shape Asia’s Future,” Nikkei Asian Review, December 10, 2015, http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/Abe-Modi-exercise-their-right-to-help-shape-Asia-s-future.
- 14.
Walter Lohman, “Responding to China ’s Rise: Could a ‘Quad ’ Approach Help?” The National Interest, June 25, 2015, http://www.nationalinterest.org/feature/responding-chinas-rise-could-quad-approach-help-13182.
- 15.
United States Department of Defense, Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense, January 2012, http://archive.defense.gov/news/Defense_Strategic_Guidance.pdf.
- 16.
The specific phrases are derived from the U.S. Quadrennial Defense Reviews published since 2001.
- 17.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “America’s Pacific Century,” Foreign Policy, October 11, 2011, http://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/11/americas-pacific-century/.
- 18.
Department of Defense, QDR , 2006.
- 19.
Richard Fontaine, “Where Is America in Japan and India ’s Plans for Asia?” The National Interest, December 28, 2015, http://nationalinterest.org/feature/where-america-japan-indias-plans-asia-14741.
- 20.
- 21.
U.S.–India Strategic Consultations, September 30, 2014, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/09/232338.htm.
- 22.
Council on Foreign Relations Task Force Report , Working with a Rising India : A Joint Venture for the New Century, November 2015, http://www.cfr.org/india/working-rising-india/p37233.
- 23.
Satu Limaye, “Tokyo’s Dynamic Diplomacy,” Contemporary Southeast Asia , 22, 2 (August 2000), pp. 322–339.
- 24.
Council on Foreign Relations Task Force Report , Working with a Rising India : A Joint Venture for the New Century, November 2015, http://www.cfr.org/india/working-rising-india/p37233.
- 25.
Dhruva Jaishankar, “A Fine Balance: India , Japan and the United States ,” The National Interest, January 24, 2014, http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/fine-balance-india-japan-the-united-states-9762.
- 26.
Hemand Krishan Singh, “For India and Japan , Both Symbolism and Substance,” The Business Standard, February 25, 2014, http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/hemant-krishan-singh-for-india-and-japan-both-symbolism-and-substance-113122100639_1.html.
- 27.
Brahma Chellaney, “Why Japan Should Rearm,” Project Syndicate, October 19, 2015, Read more at https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/japan-security-reform-by-brahma-chellaney-2015-10#L6DlswXLSA9K2QGR.99.
- 28.
David Feith, “The U.S.–India Strategic Test,” Wall Street Journal, December 3, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-india-strategic-test-1449165764.
- 29.
Harold Isaacs, Scratches on Our Minds: American Images of China and India (New York: John Day, 1958).
- 30.
A Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces (JMSDF) Commander expressed the constraint this way: “Since the end of the Cold War , Japan has consistently expanded its activities towards improving maritime domain security. But this trend is gradually changing, due to budget restrictions and changes in the security environment surrounding Japan ” (emphasis added). See JMSDF Commander Keitaro Ushirogata, “Japan ’s Commitment to Indian Ocean Security: A Vitally Important Highway, But Risks of Strategic Overextension?” http://nsc.anu.edu.au/documents/ipmsc-papers/Japan%E2%80%99s%20commitment%20to%20Indian%20Ocean%20security%20-%20Keitaro%20Ushirogata.pdf.
- 31.
Daniel Twining, “Abe, Modi Exercise Their Right to Help Shape Asia’s Future,” Nikkei Asian Review, December 10, 2015, http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/Abe-Modi-exercise-their-right-to-help-shape-Asia-s-future.
- 32.
See Satu Limaye, Weighted West, Focused on the Indian Ocean and Cooperating Across the Indo-Pacific: India ’s New Maritime Strategy, Capabilities and Diplomacy, Center for Naval Analyses, April 2017, https://www.cna.org/cna_files/pdf/DRM-2016-U-013939-Final2.pdf.
Acknowledgements
Satu Limaye is Director, East-West Center in Washington and Senior Advisor, Center for Naval Analyses Corporation. The views expressed here are entirely personal. The author would like to thank Benjamin DeThomas for his research assistance and input into this chapter. The author is responsible for all errors.
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Limaye, S. (2018). Integrating an Ally and an Aligner in a Principled Security Network: The United States and the India–Japan Strategic Partnership. In: Basrur, R., Kutty, S. (eds) India and Japan. Politics of South Asia. Palgrave Pivot, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8309-9_5
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