Tokyo, Nov 14 Although the Indo-Pacific continues to be a contested and dynamic theatre, steady and practical cooperation between Japan and India can ensure that it remains open, stable, and secure, a report said on Friday.
It added that at a fundamental level, Tokyo and New Delhi view the Indo-Pacific as an interconnected strategic space spanning from Africa's eastern coast to the western Pacific, underpinned by inclusivity, freedom of navigation, and respect for international law as the normative basis for their engagement.
Writing for ‘Japan Forward’, Pema Gyalpo, a Visiting Professor at the Takushoku University Centre for Indo-Pacific Strategic Studies, noted that the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasised a "free and open Indo-Pacific" as the cornerstone of her strategic foreign and security policy. However, he observed that the Japanese media has largely failed to highlight this statement -- or its relevance to India -- either intentionally, through ignorance, or because of concerns over reactions from “noisy” neighbours.
“As Takaichi's mentor, the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe predicted, the Indo-Pacific has become the strategic heart of the twenty-first century, marked by shifting power balances, contested maritime spaces, and growing emphasis on economic security. Within this fluid environment, Japan and India have emerged as two pivotal democracies attempting to give structure to the idea of a rules-based regional order,” Gyalpo stated.
“Both nations have long articulated similar visions in Japan's free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) and India's Indo-Pacific Oceans' Initiative (IPOI). However, the real test lies not in their rhetorical convergence but in the translation of shared principles into sustained and practical cooperation. Their partnership has gradually evolved into one of the most tangible pillars of regional stability. But it also faces challenges of depth and institutional endurance,” he added.
The report said that for Japan, India serves as a democratic counterweight and a strategic bridge to the western Indo-Pacific, while for India, Japan offers both a technologically sophisticated partnership and access to the Pacific maritime architecture, aligning with the Indian Ocean centrality.
According to the report, both India and Japan can craft a model of middle-power cooperation showing how economic and security partnerships can reinforce rather than undermine sovereignty.
“The challenge ahead is to convert this partnership from one of convergence into one of capability. That means sustained co-investment in critical sectors, shared defence production, joint digital standards, and coordinated maritime presence,” it noted.
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