India, Japan reach agreement on nuclear cooperation

Analysts say despite a 15 percent annual rate of increase in two-way trade, India accounts for only 1.2 percent of Japan’s total trade, and Japan for 2 percent of India’s.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe oversaw the inking of two key strategic pacts that will allow Tokyo to manufacture military equipment in India and enable the nations to share defence secrets. He said, “It is a shining symbol of a new level of mutual confidence and strategic partnership in the cause of a peaceful and secure world”.

The MOU for co-operation on the proposed 508 km Mumbai – Ahmedabad high speed line was signed on December 12. Modi, who has been looking to Tokyo to pump in capital to overhaul the country’s infrastructure, said “this enterprise will launch a revolution in India’s railways and speed up India’s journey into the future”.

At a separate media briefing, Yasuhisa Kawamura, spokesperson of the Japanese prime minister, credited both Modi and Abe for the Saturday’s agreement.

The railway deal-which comes with financing worth $12 billion on terms Mr. Modi described as “very easy”-also represents a boon for Japanese business, which has suffered embarrassing losses to China in bids for bullet-train contracts in Indonesia and Thailand”.

As for India, this was the first time it had placed tensions in the region at the front and centre of a relationship traditionally defined by economics – as was clear from Modi’s comments after a 90-minute meeting with Abe and a joint statement the two countries released. The United States and India have already been promoting bilateral nuclear cooperation, so the Japanese nuclear industry, which has ties with the United States, will be able to move into India if a Japan-India nuclear cooperation agreement is concluded.

On the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) issue, he said India had put it behind with Japan’s help in 2008 itself when the nuclear suppliers group decided to make an exception for India.

Regarding negotiations on the bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement, the focal issue was how to prevent India from conducting nuclear tests or diverting spent nuclear fuel for military use.

Messrs. Modi and Abe said Japan will take part in the India-U.S. Malabar naval exercises off the coast of the South Asian country on a regular basis, to develop stronger capabilities to deal with maritime challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

“We hope that countries outside the region will respect efforts being made by the countries in the region to maintain security and stability of the SCS rather than the other way around”, he said.