India and Japan : Strategic Bonding

Well with all the world discussing the BRICS nations how will this sit with one of the members China?

To be specific, both India and Japan find a lot of common ground to enhance cooperation in the defence and security sector including in the field of maritime security in the wake of Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. Parrikar had no hesitation to reiterate and reaffirm India’s position that it considers relations with Japan of “great importance” and that Japan is a privileged partner in the ‘Make in India’ initiative including in the defence technology sector.

During his talks with Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, both leaders agreed to scale up bilateral ties in the defence and security domains beyond economic cooperation and enhancing regional connectivity. The kind of importance that India attaches to its relations with Japan is demonstrable from the fact that Parrikar chose Japan as the first country to visit after assuming office of Defence Minister in the Narendra Modi government. From his side, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo remarked after meeting with Parikkar that ‘a strong’ India-Japan partnership was not only in the “national interest of the two” but also “important for peace and security in the region”.

www.indiandefensenews.in...

As we all know China and Japan have a storied past and present over certain islands, so it should be interesting to see what comes of this as China cannot be happy with this arrangement.

a reply to: tsurfer2000h

India is the 500 pound gorilla in the room for World War III.

There is a long history of Chinese aggression and mistrust between the two nations. The Sino-Indian war started in 1960 and is still not technically over today.

The 1962 Sino-Indian War was fought in both of these areas. An agreement to resolve the dispute was concluded in 1996, including "confidence-building measures" and a mutually agreed Line of Actual Control. In 2006, the Chinese ambassador to India claimed that all of Arunachal Pradesh is Chinese territory[2] amidst a military buildup.[3] At the time, both countries claimed incursions as much as a kilometre at the northern tip of Sikkim.[4] In 2009, India announced it would deploy additional military forces along the border.[5]

Well I've got news for all the bric people The only way India would fight against us in World War III is if China is on our side.

a reply to: Greathouse

There is a long history of Chinese aggression and mistrust between the two nations.

Which also doesn't help things and may be a reason why India has done this with Japan.

Now we have to see what China has to say about the new strategic bonding which may not bother them, but I don't see this not bothering them.

a reply to: tsurfer2000h

This is from your link.

Following the pledge to upgrade their security relationship in September 2014 to uphold maritime security and the peaceful settlement of disputes, India has invited Japan to participate for the first time in annual naval exercises with the US in the Pacific Ocean. This naval exercise is likely to witness the participation of American nuclear-powered aircraft career USS Carl Vinson. If Japan participates in this 19th edition of Malabar to be held in September-October 2015, it will be interesting to see how China reacts as it had strongly protested against the 2007 edition of Malabar in the Bay of Bengal since it was expanded to include the Australian, Japanese and Singaporean navies as well. Beijing always viewed the multilateral naval exercise as part of a grand security axis in the Asia-Pacific region to ‘contain’ it.

If China is really pissed about it we should start hearing about it early summer. A added fact is that India I believe is number seven of the top 10 Navies, combined with Japan (#4) they would make a pretty potent force.

People over-play the BRICS thinking they are some form of alliance. They are not.

There is a history of mistrust between India, the world’s largest democracy and China, the world’s largest dictatorship.

India leans towards the democratic west on many things, including the opportunities afforded by commerce. India also sees China as an aggressive entity and can look towards Chinese claims on Indian territory and Tibet, as well as myriad Chinese territorial claims with others, not least for the South China Sea which is a key maritime trade route.

India linking in with Japan is obvious.

a reply to: paraphi

Thanks for reminding me I almost forgot.

FREE TIBET!!!!!!!

Japan and China have agreed to create a special communication mechanism to avoid unintended maritime and air clashes, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told journalists on Tuesday.

The minister said this is a “very important step taking into account the high risk of such incidents, including in the East China Sea.”

Tokyo and Beijing resumed talks Monday on developing a tool to prevent crisis situations in the area of the disputed Senkaku islands in the East China Sea. The talks in such a format were suspended in 2012.

The communication mechanism in particular envisages setting up a special “hotline” between the Japanese coast guard and China’s maritime police, and also using a common radio frequency for communications in emergency situations.

Tensions over the group of uninhabited islands increased in September 2012 after Tokyo announced plans to buy them from private owners. After that move, mass anti-Japanese protests hit China.

Since then, Chinese vessels have been repeatedly seen near the disputed Senkaku Islands, also known as the Diaoyu Islands in China.

Beijing maintains that Japan had annexed the islands by force and they should be given back to China under the terms of Tokyo’s surrender during World War II.

TASS

www.strategic-culture.org...

a reply to: paraphi

People over-play the BRICS thinking they are some form of alliance. They are not.

That is another thing this article proves that they aren't.

But I don't see China being very pleased about this, but I wonder if China thought with the BRICS that they could somehow keep something like this from happening?

It seems that would have been part of the plan, but when it come to China nobody really knows what they will do.