​Two together: on the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to India

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s first official visit to India turned out to be an occasion to signal enhanced bilateral coordination in the face of global uncertainties. Rapid changes in geopolitics and technological advances are forcing all countries into fresh thinking, most consequentially with regard to China . The U.S. appears less enthusiastic about the Quad grouping (with India, Japan, and Australia) and is unsure of the nomenclature “Indo-Pacific” in its strategy. Against this backdrop, India and Japan declared a joint intent to continue with an ‘updated’ Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) posture, ring-fencing bilateral ties from multilateral arrangements. Ms. Takaichi signed at least 16 agreements and documents, including a joint statement on energy resilience to support bilateral cooperation along the ‘maritime energy transport value chain’. The commitments to energy cooperation were supported by the awareness that to play lead roles in the FOIP, the two sides should cooperate in the energy domain from South Asia to the Indo-Pacific . This concern was also linked with the problems both sides faced regarding the safety of energy-carrying ships and sailors during the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. The two major Asian economies have a shared interest in ensuring that the nearest energy sources in the Gulf remain accessible. They have agreed to build naval platforms to enhance maritime domain awareness and surveillance.