Japan & India Should Collaborate to Support Countries around the South China Sea

By Satoru Nagao —

The Indian Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel ICGS Vishwast during a visit to the Port of Kobe, Japan.

The Indian Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel ICGS Vishwast during a visit to the Port of Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Source: Wikimedia user Jo, used under a creative commons license.

Recently, Japan appears to be engaging in balancing behavior to counter China’s assertiveness. Japan’s security relations with the United States and Australia have become closer. Japan is planning to donate patrol ships to Vietnam and the Philippines. In addition, Japan has begun to expand its cooperation with Southeast Asian countries based on shared, democratic values, mutual security concerns, and trustworthiness. India represents a key potential balancer in the eyes of Japan’s strategic thinkers. More importantly, in recent times, Japan-India security cooperation has also shown signs of progress. Recent progress on the transfer of US-2 maritime rescue aircraft from Japan to India is emblematic of the close relationship between Japan and India, particularly under Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Narendra Modi.

As key balancers in the Indo-Pacific, Japan and India can also collaborate to support countries around the South China Sea. Because China’s military is far more powerful than those of other countries around the South China Sea, Southeast Asian states need to integrate their policies and bolster their military strength by obtaining military support from trustworthy partners. Japan-India strategic cooperation is therefore critical to partners in Southeast Asia.

India has already started to support armed forces in Southeast Asia as a part of its “Look East Policy.” India has trained the crew of Thailand’s aircraft carrier, the crews of submarines and fighter pilots in Vietnam, and fighter pilots and crews in Malaysia. Further, India has agreed to train pilots and provide maintenance for fighter planes of the Indonesian Air Force. Singapore also uses India’s land and air bases for their training.

Although it has not supported armed forces in Southeast Asia, Japan has long provided security equipment, including anti-piracy systems, tsunami warning systems, cyber defense systems, and infrastructure like airfields and ports. These systems are indirectly related to maritime security in the South China Sea. In addition, under Prime Minister Abe, Japan has begun donating equipment to these countries. For example, Japan is donating patrol ships to Vietnam and the Philippines to assist them in securing sea lanes of communication.

Thus, if Japan and India collaborate with each other, they can better support countries around the South China Sea. For example, if Japan were to build an airport in Vietnam and the Indian Air Force were to train Vietnam’s fighter pilots, Vietnam would be able to receive the benefits of both an airport and fighter pilot training. As this example illustrates, Japan-India-Vietnam cooperation can create a win-win-win situation.

To achieve this goal, what kind of systems ought to be established? In January 2014, when Prime Minister Abe visited New Delhi, he and Prime Minister Modi “welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on ASEAN affairs.” The hope is that the dialogue will promote a more practical trilateral strategic dialogue that includes Japan, India, and other nations. Examples of possible trilateral dialogues include: Japan, India, and Vietnam; Japan, India, and the Philippines; Japan, India, and Singapore; and others. Through such dialogue, Japan and India can share information, better identify the needs of these Southeast Asian countries, and decide how best to cooperate with or support these countries.

China’s assertiveness has worsened due to the changing power balance in Asia. In response, Japan has adopted a balancing policy. Under such circumstances, there are many areas in which Japan and India can cooperate to mitigate this situation and the South China Sea represents one of the most salient challenges for regional security. In addition, Japan is now seeking greater cooperation with India because India has the potential to become a trustworthy security partner for the Japan-U.S. alliance. Therefore, India-Japan collaboration would have both a positive impact on regional stability and trilateral India-Japan-U.S. cooperation could play an important global role.

Dr. Satoru Nagao is an Research Fellow, Tokyo Foundation; Lecturer on Strategy, Gakushuin University and Research Fellow, Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo. In 2015, he was a Visiting Scholar with the Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Dr. Nagao’s essay is part of CSIS’s Strategic Japan Working Paper Series featuring Japanese scholars addressing pressing issues in Japanese foreign and economic policy.

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