Bilateral mileage

Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee's visit to Tokyo adds new dimensions to India-Japan relations at a time of turmoil on the international scene.

PRIME MINISTER Atal Behari Vajpayee evidently attached a great deal of importance to his visit to Japan from December 7 to 11. He insisted on going although Parliament was in session and the government had tabled important Bills, including one to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO). The dramatically changed international situation has brought India closer to countries of the Western alliance. The National Democratic Alliance government wants to be seen by the international community as one that is working closely with the countries involved in the "war against terrorism".

Both New Delhi and Tokyo have sought to play important roles on the global stage following the September 11 incidents in the United States. In recent months Japan has managed to gain more diplomatic mileage than India out of the war against Afghanistan. As a long-standing political and military ally of the U.S., Japan used the opportunity presented by the recent events formally to try and get out of the military straitjacket it has found itself in for 50 years. Japanese Air Force planes and naval ships have, in the past three months, made high-profile transit halts at Indian airports and ports as they proceeded to participate in the U.S.-led war effort in Afghanistan.

As part of its diplomatic efforts, the Japanese government sent former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to New Delhi in October. His brief was to advise India to exercise moderation while reacting to terrorist attacks. (Some senior Indian Ministers had threatened retaliation against Pakistan for its alleged abetment of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.) Mori refused to accept the Indian position that the Pakistan government was sponsoring terrorism in the Kashmir Valley. Indian officials were noticeably unhappy about this attitude.

On the eve of Mori's visit, Japan lifted most of the sanctions imposed on India and Pakistan in 1998 in the wake of the Pokhran and Chagai Hills nuclear tests. However, it warned that the sanctions would be reimposed if the two countries tested nuclear weapons again.

In Japan, Vajpayee said that the lifting of sanctions "led to the normalisation of our ties, and now we are moving ahead to broaden and deepen them. New dimensions will be added and relations will become more comprehensive."

Japan was among the most vociferous critics of the nuclear tests in the subcontinent. Japanese public opinion is still very much against nuclear proliferation. During Vajpayee's visit, the nuc-lear issue came up for discussion. The Indian side gave an undertaking of sorts that it would try to build a national consensus to sign of the Comp-rehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Both Tokyo and New Delhi are aware that with the Bush administration refusing to ratify the CTBT, the issue is now on the backburner. With the U.S. all set to get out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and Tokyo not even complaining, India is well aware that the issue of disarmament is not an emotive one with the Junichiro Koizumi government in Japan.

Interestingly, in the joint statement issued at the end of Vajpayee's visit, CTBT and related issues were characterised as global, not regional issues.

The joint statement took note of India's efforts to develop a national consensus on signing the CTBT as early as possible and to not impede the entry into force of the Treaty. The statement also noted India's decision to continue the unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing until the treaty came into force. The Koizumi government in fact supports the Bush administration's TMD (Theatre Missile Defence) and NMD (National Missile Defence) programmes. The former, if implemented, would accelerate the missile and nuclear race in the Asia-Pacific region while the latter programme could lead to the nuclearisation of outer space.

Vajpayee's visit has restored the bonhomie to bilateral relations. The parties in power in both countries have similar viewpoints on important issues. A binding factor has been the dread of China as an emerging superpower. (The U.S. has also been playing on this unstated fear of the Indian government, by holding out the tantalising prospect of a long-term military alliance.) India and Japan have decided to step up defence cooperation, which includes the holding of a security dialogue covering the entire range of military-to-military cooperation.

Japan has indicated that it is not averse to the Indian Navy playing a more active role. Japan signalled in 2000 that it would not mind a policing role for it, especially along the Malacca Straits, which is bristling with pirates. The Indian Navy's rescue of the Japanese ship, Global Mars, and its crew from hijackers in the Straits on November 4, 2000 was much appreciated in Tokyo.

Japan has been seeking to play a more active military role. This move has the tacit support of the U.S. Naturally, several countries in the region that have had first-hand experience of Japanese militarism in the past are alarmed. Koizumi has been accused of trying to cater to nationalist and revivalist forces in Japan. New history lessons glorifying Japan's imperial past are sought to be introduced in high schools textbooks.

Koizumi stirred up a controversy by visiting on August 16, 2001 (Frontline, September 28) a Shinto shrine containing the ashes of Japanese Army officers convicted of Second World War crimes. China and South and North Korea, which suffered the most under Japanese occupation, have been demanding a formal apology from Koizumi for this. Officials in Beijing are all the more wary as they fear that the U.S. is preparing a blueprint in connivance with Japan and Taiwan to quarantine China militarily. The growing coziness between New Delhi and Tokyo will be monitored closely in Beijing and other capitals in the region.

During the Prime Minister's visit to Japan, the issue of terrorism was high on the agenda. The Indian government had expected some strong words against Pakistan for allegedly sponsoring cross-border terrorism. Although there have been some indications that many western countries believe that Pakistan may be culpable in the matter, there have been no explicit condemnations. In fact, Koizumi wanted the early resumption of the dialogue between India and Pakistan. Vajpayee refused to commit himself to a meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, despite prodding from his Japanese hosts. The western countries and Japan remain tight-lipped on the issue of terrorism in Kashmir largely owing to the fact that Pakistan has been a key ally in the war against Afghanistan. Japan is no exception.

The joint India-Japan Declaration stated that terrorism was not justified, whatever be the reason. It emphasised that the fight against terrorism should not be confined to the perpetrators but should encompass those who provide support, sustenance and safe haven. Both countries agreed on the need to strengthen the international legal framework against terrorism.

JAPAN has invited India to the ministerial meeting on the reconstruction of Afghanistan to be held early next year in Tokyo. As of now, the countries that have been asked to participate are the U.S. and its European allies in the war against terror. Japan is expected to provide considerable funds for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

India has sought more Japanese investment in the Indian economy. A downturn has affected the Japanese economy and there are indications that the country is heading for a recession. Japanese officials are also worried that several Japanese firms are shifting their operations from Japan to China. The positive work culture coupled with comparatively low wages in China has made it attractive for Japanese firms. Japanese officials have indicated that the environment in India is not conducive enough for Japanese investments. Among other things, Japanese businessmen blame the unhelpful bureaucracy and the not too hospitable working and living conditions. Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie, who had accompanied the Prime Minister, told Japanese businessmen, that by investing in China, Japan could face a future "security problem". He undiplomatically amplified his statement by saying, "You are not strengthening a potential rival when you invest in India."

DURING his stop over in Osaka, Vajpayee had a meeting with T. Muivah and Isaac Swu, the leaders of the banned National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M group). An official statement issued at the end of the discussion said that "a negotiated settlement (to the Naga issue) remained the objective of the two sides".