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| Image: Flickr User - Narendra Modi |
By Yuki Tatsumi
India-Japan security relations have flourished since Abe’s first term in office.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 12. As Abe concluded his short two-day visit to India the end of their meeting, the two leaders issued Japan-India Vision 2025 Special Strategic and Global Partnership. In this document, Abe and Modi agreed on expanding bilateral cooperation in a wide range of issues from investment, disaster risk management, and people-to-people exchange. They also acknowledged that stability of the Indo-Pacific region to be “indispensable” to their respective national security and prosperity, calling for a more robust cooperation in security issues.
The Japan-India relationship is among the core relationships that Abe has focused on since he served prime minister for the first time, from 2006-2007. In fact, shortly after Abe returned to power in December 2012, he contributed an important commentary to Project Syndicate on December 27, 2012. In this commentary, he introduced the “Diamond Concept (daiyamondo kousou), in which he envisioned that the United States, Japan, Australia, and India would form a virtual security “diamond” and work together to maintain the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
This commentary by Abe attracted hardly any attention in Japan when it was published. However, when reflecting on the major foreign policy decisions that Abe has made since then, it is clear that Abe’s moves to pursue more robust relationships with Australia and India, while continuing to anchor these relationships with its alliance with the United States, are remarkably consistent with this “Diamond Concept.” It is also a critical component of his government “proactive contribution to peace” principle articulated in the National Security Strategy.
Read the full story at The Diplomat