Seminar on Indo-Pacific in Turbulent Times: Challenges Before India and Japan 

Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS), Christ University, in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), held a working session on ‘Indo-Pacific in Turbulent Times: Challenges before India and Japan’. The chair of the session, Dr. N Manoharan, welcomed and briefly introduced each panelist before introducing the theme of the working session. 

Dr Madhumati Deshpande discussed the ‘Russia-Ukraine Impact on the Indo-Pacific Region’. The speaker examined how the world has been reframed in the natural order due to the recalibration of international relations, as the Indo-Pacific is gaining influence in the global south. The key consequences of the war were food, fuel, fertilizer, and the need to diversify energy demands. Rising food and edible oil prices have caused inflation, forcing Asian and African nations to seek trade with other countries or attempt to become self-sufficient. There has also been enormous pressure on countries in the conflict zone to take sides, but India has opted to remain non-aligned. Several countries have also expressed worries about security. The speaker also mentioned a regional arms race as part of future preparations and that the national interests of nations will dictate the continuation of ties. The geostrategic and military implications have also been substantial, such as increased security cooperation in the area influencing global order, Russian supremacy, and the known unknowns that will define world order.

Dr Anurag Tripathi discussed ‘India's G20 Presidency and Japan's G7 Presidency’. He began his presentation by observing the nature of 21st-century International Relations. While the 19th and 20th centuries were divided among liberalism, realism, and conservatism, modern-day nation-state relations amalgamate all three approaches. He then moved on to the presentation's theme, the concurrent leadership roles of India and Japan as presidents of the organizations G20 and G7, respectively. He also elaborated on the importance and relevance of regional cooperation groups. Ever since independence, India has promoted the 'Neighbourhood First Policy'. After the onset of COVID-19, it also introduced a vaccine development policy. These are areas that both countries can explore to further Indo-Japanese relations. Apart from this, one of the largest areas of collaboration between India and Japan is climate change. Both countries emphasize on reduction of greenhouse gasses and carbon footprint. However, areas of divergence also exist. One of the most recent issues of contention is the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where Japan voted against Russia while India abstained from voting. Furthermore, India continues to buy Russian oil. Finally, he talked about the future of relations between India and Japan. He concluded by mentioning the bilateral prospects in clean technologies and nuclear weapons.

Speaking on ‘India-Japan Strategic Cooperation: Discussing ASEAN Centrality’, Dr Mayilvaganan emphasized on the Indo-Pacific having the largest land area in the world, with the Indian Ocean and eastern coast making up the Indo-Pacific. ASEAN has good relations with China, while Malaysia cannot go against it due to trade relations. The US, Japan, and Australia will help in the area of Malacca Strait. He also spoke about ASEAN centrality leading to fear of supporting India and Japan, but also that no one would favor India-Japan and the benefit of ASEAN other than Vietnam and Singapore. He also touched on technological aspects of enhancing security.

Dr Prakash Panneerselvam examined the ‘Challenges Before India – Japan Relations’. He initiated his presentation by discussing the lack of a common political history between India and Japan, as they belonged to different blocs. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in the early 2000s, was a pioneer in Indo-Japanese relationships. Since his era, many security engagements have been agreed upon between the two countries. A large part of the relationship between the countries is based on connectivity. In the ICWA conference, current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida mentioned the importance of a corridor connecting South Asia to other parts of Asia via Northeast India. Japan has also made efforts to build connectivity between India and Myanmar. However, the ambiguity in the relationship between India and Japan is a significant burden for both countries. This ambiguity comes from the unpredictability of how India will react if there is a threat or conflict in Southeast Asia. The speaker added that Japan is a region in limbo as there is a considerable gap between countries with China, with the West, and neutral ones. He concluded that strategic agreements and dialogues could overcome challenges in Indo-Japanese relations.