By Satyaki Chakraborty
The three day visit of the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to India from July 1 to 3 has drawn big attention in Chinese media with experts analyzing whether India is joining Japan led move for an Indo-Pacific security bloc as a part of Japan’s anti-China strategy.
Japanese PM Takaichi is hardcore anti-China. In the last few months after her taking over as PM, she was embroiled in big controversy with Beijing over her aggressive remarks on Taiwan. She was also a big supporter of QUAD consisting of the USA, Japan, India and Australia. In fact, Trump had to ask Takaichi to stop her anti-China tirade on the eve of the US President’s visit to China on May 14 and 15 for the summit.
Takaichi had discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about QUAD and security in Indo-Pacific during her bilateral talks. India is scheduled to host QUAD summit in 2026, but uncertainty is there due to loss of American interest in QUAD following Trump’s latest visit to Beijing. So both Takaichi and Modi discussed the Indo-Pacific issue in a different perspective without depending on US support. After US, Japan thinks itself as the leader of Indo-Pacific security bloc.
In this context, Chinese official media Global Times comments in its issue of July 4 that Takaichi’s agenda was to accelerate Japan’s security transition and show that India is an important part of that. But GT expresses doubts whether Indian PM agreed to the Japanese perception of the security threat. The reason being given by the GT is that in the past years, Japan-India cooperation has consistently being framed within the context of a free and open Indo-Pacific, a notion touted by the US. But as the US war department recently renamed its Indo-Pacific Command back to Pacific Command, a move which signals downgrading India, the very basis of Indo-Pacific security is in doubt.
As Chinese analysts see it, Japan just seeks to leverage India’s geopolitical influence to expand its diplomatic and security reach in the Indian Ocean, South Asia and across the Global South. Its “free and open Indo-Pacific” campaign is to move beyond the Asia-Pacific by drawing India more firmly into alignment as a counterweight to China.
However, Japan’s attempt to draw India over to its side has never been an easy task. India has never pursued cooperation entirely according to the “script” of other countries, let alone Japan. The core objective of New Delhi’s participation in Japan-India collaboration has always been to secure Japanese investment, technology and industrial expertise to serve its own development goals of “Make in India,” rather than aligning with Japan-led geopolitical blocs, GT says.
Chinese commentator also appreciates India’s present independent position. Past practices have long demonstrated that India participates simultaneously in the Quad mechanism while maintaining traditional cooperation with Russia, and its relations with China have recently shown significant improvement. India’s foreign cooperation remains absolutely centered on its own interests and will not sacrifice its diplomatic flexibility for Japan’s geopolitical objectives, GT observes.
Overall, Takaichi’s visit to India represents an exchange of interests between two countries with distinct objectives against the backdrop of shifting regional and global dynamics. The visit has advanced cooperation in various fields, yet it also reveals the inherent complexity of a relationship where each side’s calculations are shaped by its unique geopolitical context. GT points out.
This Chinese analysis of India’s present diplomatic position vis a vis Japan is big advance in India-China bilateral relations. China has misgivings about India’s involvement in anti-China strategic alliance led by USA in Asia-Pacific. Latest position is that Trump presidency has diluted its Asia-Pacific strategy. China is also happy that India is taking measures to improve its relations with China and Russia, despite reservations made by the Trump administration. Now if India distances its further from American geopolitics, that will strengthen the country’s strategic autonomy. That will help India in emerging as a leader of Global South again. (IPA Service)
