India-Japan Relations and the Indo-Pacific — Srabani Roy Choundhury

This episode of The IR thinker examines the evolving partnership between India and Japan in the Indo-Pacific with Dr Srabani Roy Choudhury, focusing on how India’s SAGAR vision and Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific concept complement one another in strategic and normative terms. The discussion explores defence cooperation, Taiwan’s growing salience, Japan’s changing defence posture, the role of the United States, and joint efforts on critical minerals, supply chains and energy cooperation as the two countries navigate an increasingly contested regional order.Srabani Roy ChoundhuryDr Srabani Roy Choudhury is Professor of Japanese Studies at the Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. Her research focuses on Japan’s foreign and security policy, Indo–Japanese relations and the politics of the Indo-Pacific, and in 2024 she received the Commendation for Promotion of Japanese Studies from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.Publications:The Indo-Pacific Theatre: Strategic Visions and FrameworksJapan and its Partners in the Indo-Pacific: Engagements and AlignmentIndia-Japan Partnership: Abe the Game ChangerIndia, Japan and Beyond: Human Security, Environment, Development, Innovation and ResilienceContent00:00 - Introduction02:27 - Complementary Visions: India’s SAGAR and Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)09:39 - Reception of India’s SAGAR Initiative in Japan12:11 - SAGAR: A Fixed Strategy or an Evolving Concept?13:21 - Impact of Japan’s Increased Defence Spending on India-Japan Relations in the Indo-Pacific19:04 - Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services Agreement (RPSS) Between India and Japan21:54 - The Role of Taiwan in Shaping India-Japan Relations27:27 - Comparing the Postures of Abe, Kishida, and Ishiba Towards India36:41 - Ishiba’s Controversial Statement on an ‘Asian NATO’39:36 - The Role of the USA in India-Japan Relations44:17 - Japan’s Recognition of Arunachal Pradesh and Its Strategic Implications Against China48:39 - India’s Limited Engagement in Minilateral Initiatives with Like-Minded Nations51:54 - Strengthening India-Japan Collaboration in Securing Critical Minerals and Supply Chains Through SCRI54:29 - Energy Cooperation Between India and Japan57:28 - The Future of India-Japan RelationsFollow & Further ResourcesSubstack: https://theirthinker.substack.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ir-thinker/X: https://x.com/irthinker_Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theirthinker/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theirthinker.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/irthinkerfb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.