apan-Indiia Strateggic Dialoggue
Ja
MMay 24, 20017
TokyoJooint Statemment
TheT Japan-Inndia Strateggic Dialogue (track 2) u nder the coo-chairmanship of Mr. YYoshiyuki Kaasai, Chairm
manEmeritus,
ECeentral Japan Railway Company, andd Mr. Tarun Das,
D Founding Trustee, Ananta Asp
pen Centre, andardthFormer
F
Chieef Mentor, Co
onfederationn of Indian IIndustry (CIII), was heldd in Tokyo frrom 23 -24
4 May 2017
7.
TheT dialoguee was initiatted in 2006 and is curreently in its 11th year. Ina
augurated, innitially, as a trilateral withwUSA,UJapan aand India, th
his meeting wasw also atttended by Mr.
M Richard Armitage,Aforrmer US Deputy Secretaryofo State, whoo is the US coo-chair of th
he Trilaterall Dialogue.
TheT Tokyo mmeeting notted, with deep appreciaation, the veery positive momentum
m in the bila
ateral relatio
ons
underuthe jooint, dynamiic leadership of Prime Minister Sh
hinzo Abe off Japan and Prime Miniister Narend
draModiMof Indiaa. In betweeen the sessio
ons, the deleegates met ata the Kanteii with Primee Minister Shhinzo Abe.
TheT
meetinng particulaarly welcom
med the p ositive dev
velopment in maritim
me, nuclear and defen
ncecooperation,c, all of which
h had been proposed
pin this dialogu
ue several years ago.
TheT Dialogu
ue exchangeed detailed informationn on politiccal developm
ments in Jaapan, India and USA. TheT
meetingm
notted the poliitical stabiliity in both India and Japan
Jand howh
this haas enabled strong, steaady
economic
erefforms and innternationa
al partnershiips betweenn likeminded
d countries, especially thoset
followwing
a democraticc system of governanceg.
TheT Dialoguee affirmed thet importan
nce of India and Japan, two Asian maritime
mdeemocracies, to maintainning
stability andd freedom in the Indo--Pacific regiion. The Dialogue has and continnued to findd new areass ofeconomiceannd strategic cooperationn between th
he two counntries, coopeeration that would also support clooser
coordinationcn with like-m
minded counntries like th
he US and Au
ustralia.
POLITICSPThhe delegatess shared vie
ews on polittical develop
pments in thheir respecttive countries. They noted
thhat at a timee when man
ny governme
ents were mmarked by poolitical unce
ertainty, Inddia and Japann were notaablefoor the stabillity and continuity bein
ng experiencced at the highest level. Support forr the bilatera
al relationsh
hip,remainsrnonnpartisan inn both countries. If annything, support at th
he political and publicc level for therelationshipr
was increassing.
ENERGY
EThee Indian deleegates notedd the Indiann governmen
nt’s decisionn to sanctionn 7000 MW of new nuclear
reactors
randd the Indian nuclear ind
dustry’s acceeptance of th
he changes in the counttry’s liability
y regime. Th
heywelcomedw
the Lower House of the Japanes e Diet votee in favourr of a bilatteral nuclea
ar cooperattionagreementaaand looked forward
fto its final cleaarance. The Indian side encouragedd Japan to ex
xplore wayss tofu
urther coopperate commmercially annd technologgically with India in th
he nuclear s phere. The delegates saidsth
he two counntries shouldd also consider coordin
nation in areas like nucle
ear safety annd disaster response.
1The Delegates also restated support for the Paris agreement on climate change and their respective energy
commitments under that agreement. They recommended the two governments discuss how to preserve
the agreement’s overall carbon emission goals in case of other countries failing to abide by theircommitments.
In this context, the delegates noted the ambitious renewable energy programmes of both the Modi and Abegovernments. The Indian side noted India’s recently announced intention to switch to electrically powered
vehicular transport, an area that Japan is a leading technology provider.
It was also noted that given the present volatility in energy prices, India and Japan should explore thepossibility of coordinating their natural gas purchases with an eye to improved price stability and lower
overall prices.
Both delegates agreed on the importance of future business cooperation in third countries to expand clean
energy solutions.
SECURITY The delegates appreciated that India and Japan had become close collaborators and partners indesigning and building connectivity and infrastructure in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region. The twosides noted the need to keep in mind the strategic overtones of such collaboration, imperatives that go
beyond the purely commercial.
These projects include work in the Bay of Bengal area, the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal connectivity
project and programmes related to Japan’s Partnership for Quality Infrastructure and India’s Act Eastpolicy. The Indian delegation underlined the importance of close Indo-Japanese dialogue and collaborationin developing infrastructure in strategically important parts of the Indian Ocean like Sri Lanka and theMaldives.
The announcement of Asia- Africa Growth Corridor involving the Indian Ocean littoral African countries
was welcomed as evidence of the potential in Indo-Japanese collaboration in third countries.
The delegations stressed the need to carefully examine China’s Belt-Road Initiative until the time Beijing is
prepared to be more forthcoming with affected countries about its intentions and adheres to the principles
governing such projects used by multilateral financial institutions. They noted that the size of the initiative
would have important geopolitical implications that necessitated a closer collaboration and discussion
between India and Japan.
The delegations expressed concern at China’s continued unilateral actions regarding the disputed maritime
features in the South China Sea, the Senkaku Islands and, now, the use of the Belt-Road Initiative toundermine India’s territorial stance on Kashmir. They deplored Beijing’s continued refusal to abide by theArbitral Tribunal’s award on the South China Sea. The delegates appreciated Japan’s entry as a permanent
member of the Indo-US Malabar naval exercises.
The Japanese delegates noted that North Korea engendered instability in Northeast Asia. Japan wasconfronted with North Korea’s continued development of its nuclear weapons and multiple ballistic missile
programme, shooting several missiles into Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zones from 2016. Japan was alsourging North Korea to not only fully comply with its international obligations and commitments, including
under relevant UNSC resolutions, but to address at the earliest the abductions issue.
The Indian delegates noted that India was faced with threats related to Pakistan, including terrorist attacks
including those of November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai and 2016 terrorist attack in Pathankot as2well as a series of border skirmishes around the Line of Control. India was confronted by Pakistan with arecord of violating nonproliferation norms, a willingness to carry out nuclear blackmail and use its nuclear
status to provide a cover for carrying out acts of terrorism. The government of India and Japan should havea closer dialogue about these their respective sources of threat including coordinating policies andpositions.
The Japanese side pointed out that cyberspace is becoming deeper, darker, and dirtier. Future warfare is ahybrid of conventional and cyber weapons leading to cross-domain warfare among land, sea, sky, outerspace and cyberspace. Making an international alliance, especially among Japan, India and the U.S, wasstressed to maintain the free flow of information and democratic governance of cyberspace.

ECONOMICS The delegations agreed that continued growth and continued economic reforms in both India
and Japan were important to the long-term prospects of Asia and the global economy.
The Indian side summarized the many economic initiatives that the Modi government was carrying out.
These included the rollout of a nationwide Goods and Service Tax, ambitious targets for renewable energythat now incorporate a push for electric cars, a drive to a cashless economy as part of a larger Digital India
programme and regulatory changes designed to make it easier for companies to do business in India,
especially in the manufacturing sector.
The delegates noted the progress being made in India-Japan economic collaboration. They appreciated thecontinued increase in the amount of Japanese direct investment and the number of Japanese firms comingto India.
This includes the progress being made in regard to the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, the WesternDedicated Freight Corridor and the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor.
It also includes the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project and moves to expand such a programme
to other parts of the country as well as encouraging the participation of Indian companies in this endeavor.
The delegates noted that despite a bilateral immigration agreement there continued be minimal person-toperson movement between the two countries. They iterated a need to ease working visa norms andpromote Japanese language training in India. The recent agreement between India and Japan on providing
vocational and workshop training was welcomed. The delegation urged that this be followed through andexpanded, including finding means to involve Japanese firms working in India.
At a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty in the backdrop of developments in the China and Europe,
there is greater reason for India, Japan and the US to not only work together but also to collaborate in third
countries given their strong strategic convergence and common political values.

Tarun Das

Yoshiyuki Kasai

Co-Chair, India

Co-Chair, Japan3