In the same light, Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, during his visit to India recently announced his country’s action plan for a new Indo-Pacific strategy as a counter-measure in balancing China’s aggressive behavior in the region. The visit, as claimed by various analysts was also intended to bring India to the table as a suitable ally in the initiative.
The Indo-Pacific region which has been at the heart of China’s growing regional over-reach is not only an essential aspect for Japan’s national security, but is also a region where domination by a single power would ultimately derail thestrategic interests of all those in the region concerned. Countries including the south-east Asian nations, South Asia along with Japan and South Korea share mutual interests in terms of limiting China’s aggressive overlays in the Indo-Pacific.
India, which shares a cordial bilateral relations with both Japan and South Korea, is a position where it can navigate the trilateral relationship into prospects that produces an effective deterrence for China’s overreaches.
New Delhi’s bilateral engagements with its east Asian partners have seen tremendous progress ever since its Look East Policy took effect back in 1992. Since then, its relations with both Japan and South Korea have gained significantmomentum due to common progressive values shared between the three aspiring nations. India signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with South Korea and Japan in 2010 and 2011 respectively, indicating the elevation of the relationship to incorporate the developmental aspiration all three countries encompassedwith their economic growth trajectories.
Apart from the elevation of their trade relations, India also went onto pave greater avenues with both South Korea and Japan by aligning the erstwhile Look East Policy and the now newer Act East Policy by advancing security cooperation with both the countries. The militaries of Japan and India, especially in the domain of maritime security have regularly participated in joint exercises indicating the seriousness with which they seek to preserve the autonomy of the Indo-Pacific region. This cooperation is also visible between the coast guards of both South Korea and India which form as the two developing countries that are immediately affected by China’s behavior in the Indo-Pacific.
In light of these developments, the trilateral consisting of all three like-minded democracies could be strengthened to provide focus upon some major issues that are affecting their immediate strategic interests in the region. The trilateral dialogue must prioritize some important issues including maritime security in the East Asia and the Indian Ocean in order to preserve the region from plunging into great power politics that China is attempting to draw upon. This strengthening of the trilateral will also ensure that the United States is also invited as a stakeholder that can enforce a balance to China’s expansionist approach.
Besides Quad a trilateral solely focusing on the three major democracies in the region with empower the alliances capabilities to deter Beijing from making unprovoked advancements as the one’s that they have already been making. Moreover, this will also increase the probability of formalising the South Korea’s entry into the QUAD. This would not only present the grouping with a significant prospect to challenge Beijing’s overlays but would also present the seriousness with which countries are seeking to limit the threats that are being imposed in the Indo-Pacificregion.
All three, New Delhi, Seoul and Tokyo not only share common democratic political values but also share common strategic interests when it comes to their foreign policy objectives. Thus, this also makes the prospect of forging a strengthened trilateral grouping even more desirable for the advancement of their strategic interests.
China is the greatest strategic challenge to the core strategic interests of all the three- India, Japan and South Korea; mostly due to its aggressive stand in embarking on an expansionist approach. A cooperative mechanism that favours all three allies is a greater advantage that can overturn the aggressive behavior that is being showcased in the Indo-Pacific. The fact that all three have common incentive to practice caution and approach the situation with a rational approach is also advanced by the historical, political and social commonalities the three countries share.
Yet more importantly, the aggressive posturing by China also presents an opportunity to expose the true aspiration of its political elite, which is to dominate through subversive means. Therefore, a united front involving India, South Korea, Japan with the United States as a great power involved, may be necessary to limit the hegemonic characteristics that are being projected in China’s foreign policy objective of assertiveness in its neighborhood.
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