Japan is keeping Southeast Asia at the heart of its Indo-Pacific strategy
- Japan has made great strides in becoming one of the most favoured countries by Southeast Asian nations, thanks to its financial assistance and investment
- Nations in the region trying to balance between China and the United States might do well to consider hedging their bets and diversifying towards Japan
The icing on the cake for Japanese engagement in the Indo-Pacific is its access to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands provided under this pact. Japan’s presence in the Andaman Sea signals its intent of greater defence partnership with Southeast Asia.
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Japan’s most crucial sphere for security is naturally its own neighbourhood. It relies on a “shield and spear” system of alliance, where the US is the offensive power and Japan is the defensive power. The US-Japan alliance features prominently in Japanese security strategy at all levels.
While the US will not quickly disappear from the Pacific given its own interests, it can be expected to tighten its spending. A lot depends on who assumes the office of president in this year’s election, but Japan has always found it challenging to deal with American presidents.
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Titli Basu, an associate fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi and a Japanese security expert, writes that the “alliance dilemma has compelled Tokyo, which is a secondary power dependent on the system leader, to manage the fear of abandonment and entrapment.”
As Japan looks to decrease its economic interdependence with China and shift its production facilities, Southeast Asia could be the most lucrative destination. Indonesia’s government reforms have attracted companies moving out of China, including US$850 million worth of factories in June alone. This included Japanese companies such as Panasonic and Sagami Electric.
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Parag Khanna, the founder of strategic advisory firm FutureMap, says the stars have aligned economically, demographically and geopolitically for Southeast Asian growth. Even after the pandemic, Vietnam is expected to grow at 6.8 per cent and Indonesia at 5 per cent in 2021, while the combined growth of the region is expected to be 4.7 per cent.
All the major powers in the region have made efforts to court Asean countries. The waters of Southeast Asia are rich in resources as well as carriers of heavy trade and cargo. As contestation has increased in the region over disputed territories, volatility has naturally gone up.
Japan’s new leadership of the Pacific can help build stability in the region. It has long been a strong advocate of human security in Southeast Asia and is the only country with as much economic and cultural weight in the region as China.
Akash Sahu is a researcher in Indo-Pacific geopolitics and Southeast Asian studies