Japan, India partners in quest for peace: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh bows on his way to deliver a speech in Tokyo yesterday.

Agencies/Tokyo

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday stressed the need for defence and strategic co-operation between Japan and India, and said both countries had a major role to play in regional stability.

“We see Japan as a natural and indispensable partner in our quest for stability and peace in the vast region in Asia that is washed by the Pacific and Indian Oceans,” the prime minister said a day before his bilateral summit meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

He was addressing an event organised by the Japan-India Association, Japan-India Parliamentary Friendship League and International Friendship Exchange Council here.

The focus was on strategic partnership with Japan, which also has territorial disputes with China.

“This region faces multiple challenges, unresolved issues and unsettled questions. Historical differences persist despite our growing inter-dependence; prosperity has not fully eliminated disparities within and between states; and there are continuing threats to stability and security,” Singh said, without naming any country.

Calling for strengthening of regional mechanisms between New Delhi and Tokyo, Singh said: “India and Japan are among the major actors in this region. It is our responsibility to foster a climate of peace, stability and co-operation and to lay an enduring foundation for security and prosperity.

“On this occasion, I am reminded of Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe’s inspiring and visionary address to the Indian parliament in August 2007, when he spoke of the confluence of the two seas - the Pacific and the Indian Oceans - which has defined the new framework for our bilateral relationship.

“Prime Minister Abe and I will work together to strengthen our strategic partnership, impart new momentum to our economic co-operation and deepen our dialogue on shared regional and global interests,” he said.

In recent years, the prime minister added, political and security co-operation between the two countries has gained in salience.

“Japan is the only partner with whom we have a 2-plus-2 Dialogue between the foreign and defence ministries. We have also begun bilateral exercises with the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force. We have shared interests in maritime security,” he said.

The Indo-Pacific region had witnessed profound social and economic changes on “a scale and at a speed rarely seen in human history,” Singh said.

Pointing out that Abe and he had a “rich agenda for discussion,” Singh said he was convinced that co-operation between “our defence and strategic communities will blossom further” under his leadership.”

“Together, we seek a new architecture for the UN Security Council.”

The prime minister suggested three areas of co-operation: strengthening regional mechanisms and forums, promoting wider and deeper regional economic integration, and enhancing regional connectivity and upholding the principles of freedom of navigation and unimpeded lawful commerce in accordance with international law.

“India’s own deepening engagement in the region is informed by this vision. Our Look East engagement began with a strong economic emphasis, but it has become increasingly strategic in its content. Our political relations have intensified with all countries and groupings like Asean,” he said.

“Our relationship with Japan has been at the heart of our Look East Policy. Japan inspired Asia’s surge to prosperity and it remains integral to Asia’s future. The world has a huge stake in Japan’s success in restoring the momentum of its growth.”

India has sought to cultivate closer ties with Japan and other Asian countries, while upgrading its military capabilities, partly in response to a perceived challenge from China and also from neighbouring Pakistan. Both India and Japan have long expressed concern over potential threats to their energy supplies due to sea lanes vulnerable to piracy and blockades.

The business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Tokyo and New Delhi were close to reaching agreement on the sale of Japanese-made amphibious aircraft to India.