Proving that it wants to bolster strategic cooperation, India and Japan are planning to conduct a ‘2+2’ meeting on the twentieth of August in the year 2024. This foreign/defence ministers’ summit level meeting reflects the emerging rap-proachment between two of the largest democracies of Asia. The expected key agenda under discussion in the upcoming dialogue encompasses issues of regional security, defense, as well as the existing and further prospects for enhancing bilateral cooperation across the sphere of economy and technology.
The ‘ 2+2’ format that has now become standard for partners and allies means that more detailed and synchronized talks are possible on common bilateral and multilateral issues in the sphere of foreign and defense policies. This dialogue is timely for India and Japan as the two countries are facing a more complicated international setting at the moment.
More than that, given the increasing China’s activity in the Indo-Pacific region and other major challenges facing the world, including economic volatility and new technologies, a bilateral meeting of the ministers of India and Japan could play a crucial role in the formation of a new security architecture.
Among the subjects of the discussion, the focus is on the Indo-Pacific space, which is significant for both Indian and Japanese actors. Both countries have always sought a ‘Free, Open and Inclusive Indo-Pacific,’ where the strategic interests of other like-minded democratic partners such as the United States and Australia are also protected.
It was expected that the ‘2+2’ dialogue would again highlight the shared vision for sustaining peace and stability in the region in view of China’s assertiveness in South China Sea and East China Sea. This is likely to include talks of strategic cooperation in the maintenance of security at sea, in particular naval exercises and in multilateral forums in the region for instance within the Quad group which comprises of India, Japan, the United States and Australia.
Security and defence cooperation will also be on the agenda of the talks. India and Japan have gradually boosted their defense cooperation with more frequent military exercises such as the naval exercise ‘JIMEX’ and the army exercise ‘Dharma Guardian’.
These two countries are most interested in deepening this interaction even more and are interested in new fields of collaboration including in the defense technological growth, intelligence, and cybersecurity. It may also contain discussion on the capacity of transferring defense equipments and technologies, which if happens would be a milestone achievement in bilateral relations. Japan has all the sophisticated technologies it needed in terms of defense, it could spearhead India’s modernization program for the military.
Economic cooperation will also occupy one of the key positions in the conversation. India and Japan, both countries have the tradition of cooperation in terms of economic bilateral relations and they remain interested in further developing the partnership. Japan has been a significant investor in India’s social infrastructure through projects that include the industrial corridor – Delhi-Mumbai, and railway including high-speed trains.
The dialogue could contain talks about the extension of such cooperation, especially in such areas as clean energy, digital infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing. Also, there could be discussions on the deepening of the economic relations as both countries are interested in improving trade and investment relations considering the situation in supply chains around the world at the moment.
Media also supposed that the two nations will likely consider collaboration in tendencies, for example in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and space exploration. These fields have seen a great progress in both India and Japan and therefore, they stand to benefit from such an alliance in as much as it enhances their technological spring and development. Space is an attractive direction as both ISRO of India and JAXA of Japan were cooperating in the framework of both the moon and other space projects.
Coordinating this ‘ 2+2’ dialogue also has meaning when examining the general strategic context in the region. There is increased competition between the US and China, the war in Ukraine as well as the nuclear threat posed by North Korea as forces that are defining security in Asia.
Therefore, closer strategic cooperation between India and Japan is viewed as the opportunity for both to respond to these problems and threats, as well as to defend their own interests. Thus, together, they are better placed to coordinate on some of the core issues of concern in contemporary international relations, such as the rule of law on the seas and the idea of building a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.
Multilateralism is also expected to run through the dialogue, given that India and Japan are supporters of collective global governance, UN in this context. As Liberal internationalism promoting countries they may be expected to be a proponent of reforming global governance structures to be relevant to the contemporary world. They have for long advocated for reforms of the United Nations Security Council to become active members in the decision making regarding global events.
The social culture of India and Japan are similar as both the countries are in the democratic zone and over the years the two nations have developed a strong bond in many fields. The next ‘2+2’ will take place on August 20 not only will bolster this relationship but also indicate their willingness to confront regional and global issues. Because defense and security cooperation is the cornerstone of the relationship, both nations will certainly seek to define a more strategic direction of the bilateral cooperation with focus on the regional and global security issues such as maritime-security, defense technology and economic cooperation.
In conclusion, the next ‘2+2’ ministerial dialogue of India and Japan: rising to a new level in their partnership. Given the current escalation of tensions in the Indo-Pacific region and the fluctuations in global economy, such dialogue is an excellent chance to restore and develop the strategic partnership and reveal new spheres of cooperation. India and Japan can thus plan a massive role in defending and bolstering the economic and technology potential of the Indo-Pacific region of the world and beyond.
