Ajit Karn
During his visit to New Delhi on Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is likely to talk about his plan for a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” with a focus on India’s growing role in the area.
In their wide-ranging talks, Narendra Modi and Kishida are expected to talk about how the situation in the Indo-Pacific is changing because China is becoming more military aggressive.
The Japanese prime minister is set to arrive in New Delhi on Monday morning for a 27-hour visit. The goal of the trip is to strengthen mutual ties in areas like defence and security, trade and investment, and high technology.
PM Modi and PM Kishida will also talk about the top objectives for India’s G20 presidency and Japan’s G7 leadership.
People who know about the situation said on Saturday that the Japanese prime minister will talk about his “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Plan for Peace” at a speech put on by the Indian Council of World Affairs at the Sushma Swaraj Bhavan.
The plan is meant to show how important India is to the Indo-Pacific.
In June of last year, when PM Kishida spoke at the elite Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, he said that he would lay out the plan for Indo-Pacific next spring.
“I will lay out a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Plan for Peace” by next spring. This will strengthen Japan’s efforts to further promote the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, with a focus on providing patrol vessels and improving maritime law enforcement, as well as cyber security, digital and green initiatives, and economic security,” he had said.
Japan’s policy and attitude to the Indo-Pacific are likely to be spelled out in the plan.
In the last few years, almost all of the major forces have put out plans for the Indo-Pacific.
Japan has been trying to keep and improve the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific by working for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
China’s strong military moves in the East China Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait have also been a worry.
Japan is also a part of the Quad, which is a group of four countries working together to promote peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.
The United States, Australia, and India are also part of the Quad.
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In May of last year, during the Quad leaders’ meeting in Tokyo, US President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). This is a plan to help countries with similar goals work together more on things like clean energy, supply-chain resilience, and digital trade.
The Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative was also started at the meeting of the Quad leaders. (IPMDA).
The main goal of the IPMDA is to keep an eye on the seas in the region, especially since China is showing more strength in the area.
