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| India-Pakistan |
| “Japanese energy security is dependent on the Indian Navy” |
| 2007-10-01 |
| Japan’s Ambassador to India Yasukuni Enoki on Tokyo’s desire for deeper defence ties, and its interest in investing in India. Excerpts from an interview: Yasukuni Enoki returned home today after a total of six years in India as Ambassador, in two spells. He has relinquished charge at a time when both countries are seeking to upgrade their ties to the strategic level. Is there a move towards a security grouping involving India and Japan? Japan has some constraints in engaging in group security. Only Japan-U.S. defence cooperation is an exception. But there are many other things to do before we do that. Japanese energy security is dependent on the Indian Navy. The Indian Ocean has very important sea lanes. We have only the Indian Navy which can be trusted. Other navies are not as reliable. For Japanese energy security, closer relations with India are very much required. The Indian Navy can always take care of the Indian Ocean. In the past, Japan was the only major oil importer. Now, there is China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean). The Indian Ocean is very busy and many countries have an interest in its security. Are you planning to hold the next meeting of the Quadrilateral grouping [comprising India, Australia, Japan and the U.S.] in the near future? It is not a concrete arrangement. The Japanese Government has a strong will for another round. There is no consensus yet on what level it will take place — whether it will be at high officials or ministerial level. Perhaps it is a little bit risky to go too fast. But a senior official level meeting should be held soon. What is the Japanese stand on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal? The INFCIRC 153 [safeguard] format is for members of the NPT. I understand that at present the Indian Government is considering to negotiate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the basis of INFCIRC 66 [which is there for the Tarapur plant]. It is premature for the Japanese Government to comment. We wish to be very well informed of the process and it should be transparent. After watching closely, the Japanese Government will state its stand. What do you mean by transparency? That we wish to be well informed. Is Japan moving towards an institutionalised security arrangement with India? Not yet. But before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan we hope to complete some work in this direction. The essential point is military-to-military exchanges are very much advanced but the problem is [that] cooperation is fragmented. It is not under a comprehensive framework. It is time to prepare some framework to cover all the ingredients. That is the intention of both governments. Maybe it could be in the form of a joint declaration or a memorandum of understanding. But the mode doesn’t matter. What is essential is the substance. There has been talk of cooperation in space and other cutting-edge technologies but things do not seem to be moving. What are the prospects of future collaboration? We have cooperation in the political and economic areas but some areas are untapped such as science and university-to-university academic exchanges. You will be happy to note that even in science and technology, close collaboration has started. This could be accelerated in future if the Indo-U.S. civil cooperation agreement is approved by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and if the international community accepts the new regime. That will help both Japan and India to further promote hi-tech cooperation. Under the current regime, India is outside the NPT regime and since hi-tech technology has several dual-use aspects, both areas are not inseparable. Therefore, the international community should be very cautious in extending hi-tech to India. If the NSG accommodates India, that will promote hi-tech cooperation. Is there any move to change the nature of the Official Development Assistance to India? Infrastructure development requires huge finances so India needs intake of loan, preferably concessional loan. Although Japan has good intention to cover three areas, in light of the Indian Government’s policy, a major part goes for infrastructure development. It covers vast areas including urban development and forestry and not just infrastructure. Is Japan ready to finance the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project? What are its prospects? Japan has stated very clearly its willingness to work together with India. The implication is that Japan is ready to finance the DMIC. This DMIC plan should go with the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC). This DMIC requires large amount of investment over one decade. It can’t be done overnight. Already both Governments have shown interest in promoting this idea. We are going step by step and proceeding to the next step. The DMIC is a necessary passage for India’s development because till now there is no economic development for inter-State or broad areas. Every economic development plan is within the framework of the state. This idea covering six States is the first attempt to promote development in a broader area. This project is much needed for the Indian economy and Japanese investment and will enable very smooth export of goods manufactured inland. Till now there was no well prepared export policy. Indian economy was too much domestic market structured. In manufacturing, India is about to enter a new stage. Maruti has announced plans to export two lakh cars to Europe. You never had such a long sustaining export plan. Others may follow suit. For this a smooth transport system is required. What is the major constraint faced by Japanese companies? This time, we are on the eve of a new Indo-Japan business cooperation era. But the problem is we cannot find the land to construct factories in the greater Delhi area. The U.S. and Europe largely have service industries here so the requirement for land is not large. Japanese investment is centred around the manufacturing area. So Japanese investments are overflowing from the greater Delhi [area] to other regions like Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, and Mumbai. We need some destination between Delhi and Mumbai to accommodate Japanese FDI. Is there any move to replicate the DMIC project in the south, considering that the investment environment is extremely conducive? Bangalore today is the second largest home for Japanese in India after Delhi. In the past it was Mumbai. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are much preferred destinations for Japanese FDI. But we cannot cooperate at different places at the same time. India is nine times bigger than Japan. But in future if the Indian Government has another inter-State plan for the south, we can perhaps consider the possibility. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #5 There are a couple reasons for the US navy to encourage Indian patrol of the oceans there. One is that we can't be everywhere and anti-piracy is better within Indian capabilities than, say, blockading the Iranians. The second is that our presence in places like the straits off Indonesia, which are critical to shipping, is pretty provocative and is resisted by the local governments. For the moment, India is more welcome. And since those straits are pretty narrow, it's better if we don't take large US ships into them, thereby avoiding an incident in which we strayed a couple yards from the main channels into national waters. Of course, part of what's going on is that Japan wants in on the tech industry capabilities growing in India. |
| Posted by: lotp 2007-10-01 13:50 |
| #4 The Royal Navy has been absent East of Aden since the mid sixties or so. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-10-01 10:06 |
| #3 An important corollary to this is that the Japanese can no longer rely on the United States - let alone the poor old Royal Navy - to guarantee the security of the high seas. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-10-01 09:56 |
| #2 ION, FREEREPUBLIC > Canadians > Powerful Volcanic eruption in Red Sea off Yemen. *Yet another Oliver Stone production of NOT a Gwen "Look at my B*** rack" Stefani film, not starring Lindsay Lohan [Darth Vader breathing here]. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-10-01 01:27 |
| #1 ION, MVARIETY > FIVE EARTHQUAKES struck Guam + Marianas. Sub-ION, [future] PROMISED LAND seen in the sky. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-10-01 01:16 |