Japanese Foreign Minister Masuda Shintarō spent two days in India before finally meeting with Modi. However, Modi was "too busy" and only gave him about 20 minutes, which the Japanese side called a "courtesy visit." Because Modi did not discuss specific topics with Masuda Shintarō, but only emphasized the 75th anniversary of Japan-India diplomatic relations and further promoting bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

However, in New Delhi, Masuda Shintarō held long talks with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, and both sides reached three consensuses:

First, both sides confirmed the promotion of economic security cooperation between Japan and India, including the cooperation of supply chains such as energy, minerals, and semiconductors.

Second, both sides will confirm to work together to promote the so-called "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" strategy. Japan has always wanted to bring India in as a core pivot of the "Indo-Pacific Strategy," promoting security cooperation between the two sides to counter China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Third, both sides reached a deep cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI), specifically by introducing a large number of Indian technical talents (500 people) to Japan, assisting Japan to upgrade its AI technology to the level of China and the United States.

After the meeting, Masuda Shintarō told reporters: "In the context of increasingly severe international situation, the space for cooperation between Japan and India is very broad."

I believe that although Japan and India's cooperation seems close, it faces multiple obstacles and is difficult to form a so-called "strategic alliance" targeting a third country. The reasons are as follows:

First, India has always advocated "strategic autonomy" and does not want to follow the steps of the US and Western countries, and it adheres to the "non-alignment" policy, striving to "get along well" in great power games. India's cooperation with Japan does not give up its trade and economic relations with China. Moreover, the trade volume between China and India far exceeds that between Japan and India. India will not sacrifice its own interests to please Japan.

Second, Japan and India are not absolutely "strategic complementary," but have "similar needs" in key areas such as supply chains. The cooperation behind this is actually a competitive relationship.

Third, although both Japan and India are interested in the "Indo-Pacific Strategy," India is not satisfied with Japan's leadership, which is also an unstable point in Japan-India cooperation.

In summary, I think that the Japan-India cooperation is "interest-driven," and the "upper limit" of this kind of group cooperation is very obvious. The future cooperation between Japan and India still depends on whether both sides can reach a compromise on interest distribution.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1854537871094791/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.