Kishida heads to India for talks with Modi, as Ukraine war, China problems show Japan that US military backing is ‘no longer enough’

Trip aims to burnish relationship between two countries that are both locked in territorial disputes with Beijing; India in the Himalayas and Japan in the East China Sea

Among future plans are joint air force exercises that will simulate combat between Japan’s F15s and India’s Russian-made Sukhoi fighters – similar to those China flies

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Russian-made Sukhoi military aircraft. India’s Sukhoi jets are expected to take part in joint exercises with Japan’s F15s. Photo: EPA

Published: 7:00pm, 18 Mar 2022

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will visit India on Saturday, meeting his counterpart Narendra Modi for the first time, with discussions expected to focus on cementing security ties, boosting supply chain resilience and managing China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.

The visit takes place under the shadow of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While Japan has joined the West in imposing sanctions on Russia and its president Vladimir Putin, India, on the basis of its close ties with Russia, has refused to condemn Moscow, the only member of the four-nation Quad security alliance to abstain.

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi told reporters that Modi had invited Kishida for the 14th India-Japan summit, which would “provide an opportunity for both sides to review and strengthen bilateral cooperation in diverse areas”.

The last Japanese leader to visit India was former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who stepped down in 2020. With Kishida heading to India before visiting allies the United States and Australia, this signifies the importance Tokyo attaches to its ties with New Delhi, said former Indian ambassador to Japan, Deepa Wadhwa.

“Though, it started when Shinzo Abe was the prime minister, there is now bipartisan support in Japan for deepening ties with India,” said Wadhwa, who served in Tokyo from 2012 to 2015.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a virtual summit with other Quad leaders - India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden and Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Photo: AFP

India is the largest recipient of Japanese overseas development assistance. It received over US$26 billion in infrastructure development and other areas between 2010 to 2020. Japan has also invested more than US$36 billion in the country.

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