Page 2 of
2 'Confluence of the two
seas' By Purnendra Jain
certain quarters of Indian society
for Bush's role in Iraq and China being a
non-democratic country. For the Japanese leader,
there was spontaneous unanimity.
Abe
titled his speech "Futatsu no umi no
majiwari", or "Confluence of the Two Seas",
after a book authored by the 17th-century Mughal
prince Dara Shikoh, eldest son of Emperor Shah
Jahan. Although an unsung hero who was
outmaneuvered and
ultimately executed by his
younger brother Aurangzeb, who grabbed the throne
and imprisoned his father, Dara was first and
foremost an intellectual and strove to bring the
people of different faiths together. Among his
many books is the famous Majma ul-Bahrain
(The Mingling of the Two Oceans), in which
he highlighted the similarities between Hindu and
Sufi concepts and teachings.
In his
speech, Abe introduced the idea of a "broader
Asia" or "expanded Asia" (kakudai Ajia)
constituting Pacific and Indian Ocean countries
that share the common values of democracy, freedom
and respect for basic human rights. He said, "By
Japan and India coming together in this way, this
broader Asia will evolve into an immense network
spanning the entirety of the Pacific Ocean,
incorporating the United States of America and
Australia." Although the C-word was not mentioned,
it clearly gave the message that Beijing's regime
and its poor human-rights record do not qualify it
to be part of such a group.
While Abe's
message is certainly music to the ears of many in
India, New Delhi is hesitant to play a zero-sum
game against Beijing, as it also wants to engage
China economically and diplomatically. On the
other hand, Delhi has been particularly keen to
gather Tokyo's support for its nuclear deal with
the US and would like to see greater trade with
and investment from Japan.
Abe did not
disappoint his host on the economic front. He
expressed his willingness to fast-track the
proposed economic partnership agreement with India
that will facilitate bilateral trade, which was
less than $8 billion last year, constituting less
than half of the $20 billion India-China trade.
The aim is to lift India-Japan trade to $20
billion by 2010.
One of the other economic
highlights of Abe's visit was his support for a
$100 billion infrastructure project to build a
freight and industrial corridor between New Delhi
and Mumbai. Government and private funds from
Japan are likely to provide one-third of the cost,
and the project is to commence next year. This is
a mammoth project, and Japan is interested in
contributing to it as much as possible, for the
lack of infrastructure such as roads, ports and
transportation has often been cited as major
hurdles in Japan's low level of investment in
India. Last year, Japan invested only about $540
million in India, which was just over 3% of the
total foreign direct investment in the country.
When asked about his support for India's
civilian nuclear agreement with the US, as
expected, Abe responded diplomatically by saying
Tokyo is "carefully considering" its effects on
the global non-proliferation regime. Abe's "Cool
Earth 50" initiative that seeks to halve global
gas emissions by 2050 received a similar response
from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who said it
should "receive serious consideration".
On
the nuclear issue, the Japanese will remain
cautious until such time the US-India accord gets
the final nod from both countries and
international formalities, including the
International Atomic Energy Agency's inspection
regime, are in place. From Japan's business
perspective, however, building of new nuclear
power plants in India would mean great
opportunities for Japanese companies, as they are
world leaders in this technology.
In a
curious move, Abe held a brief meeting with the
son of the late Radhabinod Pal in Kolkata, which
has raised some concern in both Beijing and South
Korea, who are suspicious of Abe's nationalistic
agenda. Judge Pal was the only dissenting voice at
the Tokyo Tribunal that convicted Japanese war
criminals. Judge Pal is regarded highly in Japan,
and a monument dedicated to him stands on the
premises of the Yasukuni Shrine, where millions of
war criminals are enshrined. Abe's grandfather,
Nobusuke Kishi, who was Japan's prime minister in
the 1950s, was jailed as a Class A war-criminal
suspect but was not indicted.
Abe's visit
to India came exactly 50 years after Kishi's visit
to New Delhi at the invitation of prime minister
Jawaharlal Nehru to address the nation from the
rampart of the historic Red Fort in the capital.
Although the huge goodwill generated through
Kishi's visit did not produce long-term tangible
results in the bilateral relationship, the Abe
visit is another historic landmark in ties that
are set to strengthen and prosper.
Whether
or not Abe continues as prime minister, the new
momentum created in India-Japan relations is
likely to continue. With change in government and
political leaders in either country, the pace may
slow down but it can't be reversed, as both Japan
and India have finally recognized their shared
aspirations and mutual benefit through a closer
relationship.
Purnendra Jain is
professor and head of Asian Studies at Australia's
Adelaide University.
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