From France To Japan, Rethinking India’s Strategic Corridor Beyond The US

However, tectonic shifts are happening in the US. Even a post-Trump era will provide only limited relief to entrepreneurs or anyone for opportunities in the US.

The reliability of the US in terms of core strategic issues, including Transfer of Technology in the defence sector, has always been doubtful, and the Trump administration has done little to address the mistrust.

To overcome the US challenge, India needs to adopt a two-pronged approach – consolidating ties with Russia and China and expanding engagement with key Western and pro-Western powers.

Strategic Autonomy Doctrine

Though they sparsely make it to the headlines, France and Japan are emerging as reliable partners for India, making significant contributions to the strategic autonomy doctrine. Paris and Tokyo will now be India’s partners for the new-age economy, where critical technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), will shape global governance.

Unlike many other countries, France is not home to a considerable Indian diaspora. But the political and strategic partnership was not built overnight either. At a time when several Western states were lecturing New Delhi in the 1960s and 1970s over its democracy and internal matters, Paris was quietly building a relationship that yielded a strong defence partnership. The space and civil nuclear sectors are also important pillars of the strategic partnership, and the focus is now on expanding economic ties and people-to-people connections.

India-France Strategic Ties

India-France defence cooperation is a cornerstone of their strategic partnership, focusing on high-tech co-development, joint exercises, and major procurements such as the Rafale jets and Scorpene submarines, emphasising Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) through the technology front. 

Launched on 26 January 1998, India’s first-ever strategic partnership embodied the core vision of both countries to enhance their respective strategic independence through enhanced bilateral cooperation. After all, India has been one of the few non-French-speaking countries that has developed a stronger connection with Paris on geopolitical issues, including at the UN and Indo-Pacific region. India and France have maintained robust cooperation in matters such as countering terrorism. In recent years, the partnership has expanded to diverse domains, including the digital sphere, cybersecurity and advanced computing, climate change, blue economy, and renewable and sustainable development, among others.

Apart from bilateral dialogues, India and France have also had dedicated trilateral institutional exchanges with Australia and the UAE. Within the EU, France remains India’s fifth-largest trading partner, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Germany. India and France are prioritising five key areas for economic diplomacy: the digital landscape and innovation, clean energy, research and development, smart manufacturing, and critical technologies.

Digital Public Infrastructure

With a shared optimism on the significance of a digital public infrastructure (DPI) approach for the development of open, free, democratic and inclusive digital economies and digital societies, India and France have advanced multi-stakeholder exchanges through the InFraStructures (India-France Structures) and InFinity (India-France Innovation in Information Technology) platforms.

France is the 11th largest foreign investor in India. There is a golden opportunity now to expand India-France economic partnership.

India-Japan Ties

While France is the trusted partner in Europe, Japan has also been playing a pivotal role in shaping ties in the modern era. The deep-seated India-Japan ties were elevated to "Global Partnership" in 2000, "Strategic and Global Partnership" in 2006, and "Special Strategic and Global Partnership" in 2014. Annual summits have been regularly held between India and Japan since 2006.

Established in December 2017, the Act East Forum aims to provide a platform for India-Japan collaborations under the rubric of India’s “Act East Policy” and Japan’s “Vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific”. India-Japan defence and security partnership is a key pillar of bilateral ties, driven by a shared strategic outlook and commitment to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

Taking forward the Japan-India AI Initiative (JAI) announced by the Prime Ministers of both countries, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Japanese counterpart, Motegi Toshimitsu, launched the "AI Dialogue" recently, in a renewed push towards bilateral cooperation in this sector. Both countries have also decided to convene the "joint working group on critical minerals" under the Economic Security Initiative to advance collaboration in rare earth elements and critical minerals.

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)

The signing of the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and its implementation in August 2011 have accelerated bilateral economic and commercial relations. Japan remains the fifth among source countries for foreign direct investment (FDI), accounting for 6.02% of the total FDI into the country. In recent years, FDI from Japan has mainly been concentrated in automobiles, electrical equipment, general machinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, finance, insurance, construction, transportation, wholesale, and retail and services sectors.

But the real potential lies in strengthening the people-to-people ties between the countries, taking into consideration the demographic conditions of Japan.

Moving forward, India could seize the opportunity that has been thrown open by the global headwinds and geopolitical uncertainties. 

(The writer is a commentator on geopolitics and geoeconomics. Views are personal).