NEW DELHI—India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi starts a five-day visit to Japan on Saturday, looking to deepen defense and commercial ties between the two Asian countries as they grapple with an increasingly assertive China.
Mr. Modi is to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other officials for what are expected to be wide-ranging discussions about regional security as well as a possible deal on civil nuclear cooperation.
"We are two vibrant democracies committed to advancing peace and prosperity," Mr. Modi said this week. He said he expects his trip to "take our ties with Japan to a new level."
Both leaders are unabashed nationalists. They are working to revive laggard national economies and are worried about China's strategic intentions.
"It is a watershed meeting," said Brahma Chellaney, a strategic affairs analyst at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. "It is crucial to preventing the rise of a Sino-centric Asia."
The two countries have recently stepped up defense cooperation, with a series of joint naval maneuvers. Earlier this year, the Indian, Japanese and U.S. warships practiced anti-submarine and other operations in the Pacific.
An agreement on closer defense coordination is up for discussion when Mr. Modi is in Japan, Indian officials said, but it is unclear if any pact will be signed during the trip. India is also negotiating the purchase of Japanese amphibious search-and-rescue planes.
India and Japan have unresolved territorial disputes with China—over islands in the East China Sea in the case of Japan, and over Himalayan borders in the case of India. India and China fought a brief war over their disputed borders in 1962.
India has accused Chinese troops of making repeated incursions into Indian-controlled parts of the Himalayas. Beijing, which also claims the areas, denies India's allegations.
Indian policy makers have also grown concerned about China's growing ties with India's neighbors and expanding presence in the Indian Ocean, which New Delhi views as within its sphere of influence.
Since coming to power in May, Mr. Modi has tried to reinvigorate his country's ties with other South Asian nations, including Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan, in an attempt to help India regain its position as a dominant regional power.
Mr. Modi's trip to Japan is among a series of high-level visits by Indian officials across Asia. India's foreign minister visited Myanmar last month and its president is scheduled to travel to Vietnam in mid-September.
Early next month, Mr. Abe is scheduled to travel to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, two South Asian nations where China has made inroads by investing in infrastructure, stirring worries of encirclement in India.
Mr. Modi says he also wants to improve ties with China, an important trading partner. Mr. Modi met President Xi Jinping last month during a summit of leaders from the so-called Brics countries in Brazil, and Mr. Xi is scheduled to visit India in September.
China is India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade between the neighbors four times as large as India's trade with Japan.
But Japan has invested more in India. It is India's fourth-largest source of foreign direct investment, according to Indian government data. China doesn't figure in the top 10.
Japanese companies have helped finance some of India's biggest infrastructure projects, including the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.
Mr. Modi's administration needs to attract billions of dollars in investment to build more power plants, industrial zones and high-speed trains if it hopes to carry out its ambitious development plans.
Some of India's biggest business executives—including the country's richest man Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd. 500325.BY +0.50% —will accompany Mr. Modi to Japan in hopes of attracting investment.
Japan, too, has an interest in a stronger, more economically robust India, Japanese analysts say.
"India could grow into an economic powerhouse on par with China," said Akihiko Tanaka, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, a government-backed aid body. "Japan should help India build a robust economy and become an anchor of the region."
http://online.wsj.com/articles/indi...deepen-defense-and-commercial-ties-1409244018
Mr. Modi is to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other officials for what are expected to be wide-ranging discussions about regional security as well as a possible deal on civil nuclear cooperation.
"We are two vibrant democracies committed to advancing peace and prosperity," Mr. Modi said this week. He said he expects his trip to "take our ties with Japan to a new level."
Both leaders are unabashed nationalists. They are working to revive laggard national economies and are worried about China's strategic intentions.
"It is a watershed meeting," said Brahma Chellaney, a strategic affairs analyst at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. "It is crucial to preventing the rise of a Sino-centric Asia."
The two countries have recently stepped up defense cooperation, with a series of joint naval maneuvers. Earlier this year, the Indian, Japanese and U.S. warships practiced anti-submarine and other operations in the Pacific.
An agreement on closer defense coordination is up for discussion when Mr. Modi is in Japan, Indian officials said, but it is unclear if any pact will be signed during the trip. India is also negotiating the purchase of Japanese amphibious search-and-rescue planes.
India and Japan have unresolved territorial disputes with China—over islands in the East China Sea in the case of Japan, and over Himalayan borders in the case of India. India and China fought a brief war over their disputed borders in 1962.
India has accused Chinese troops of making repeated incursions into Indian-controlled parts of the Himalayas. Beijing, which also claims the areas, denies India's allegations.
Indian policy makers have also grown concerned about China's growing ties with India's neighbors and expanding presence in the Indian Ocean, which New Delhi views as within its sphere of influence.
Since coming to power in May, Mr. Modi has tried to reinvigorate his country's ties with other South Asian nations, including Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan, in an attempt to help India regain its position as a dominant regional power.
Mr. Modi's trip to Japan is among a series of high-level visits by Indian officials across Asia. India's foreign minister visited Myanmar last month and its president is scheduled to travel to Vietnam in mid-September.
Early next month, Mr. Abe is scheduled to travel to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, two South Asian nations where China has made inroads by investing in infrastructure, stirring worries of encirclement in India.
Mr. Modi says he also wants to improve ties with China, an important trading partner. Mr. Modi met President Xi Jinping last month during a summit of leaders from the so-called Brics countries in Brazil, and Mr. Xi is scheduled to visit India in September.
China is India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade between the neighbors four times as large as India's trade with Japan.
But Japan has invested more in India. It is India's fourth-largest source of foreign direct investment, according to Indian government data. China doesn't figure in the top 10.
Japanese companies have helped finance some of India's biggest infrastructure projects, including the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.
Mr. Modi's administration needs to attract billions of dollars in investment to build more power plants, industrial zones and high-speed trains if it hopes to carry out its ambitious development plans.
Some of India's biggest business executives—including the country's richest man Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd. 500325.BY +0.50% —will accompany Mr. Modi to Japan in hopes of attracting investment.
Japan, too, has an interest in a stronger, more economically robust India, Japanese analysts say.
"India could grow into an economic powerhouse on par with China," said Akihiko Tanaka, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, a government-backed aid body. "Japan should help India build a robust economy and become an anchor of the region."
http://online.wsj.com/articles/indi...deepen-defense-and-commercial-ties-1409244018
