National
Panel wants India, Japan to enhance security ties
By Neena Vyas
NEW DELHI, DEC. 6. The setting up of a machinery to institutionalise a policy dialogue on all security-related issues between India and Japan has been suggested by the Eminent Persons' Group of the two countries that was set up last year. The report by the Group has been sent to the Prime Ministers of the two countries, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee and Mr. J. Koizumi, and the Ministry of External Affairs released a copy of it today - a day before Mr. Vajpayee leaves for a five-day visit to Japan.
The Group has listed various areas where there can be active cooperation between the two countries and even extension of cooperation to other areas which have so far not been part of the India-Japan bilateral relations. Security of sea lanes which carry oil and gas to both countries, dealing with sea piracy, and the international war against terrorism after the September 11 strikes against the United States are areas on which a regular dialogue could begin, the report has suggested. Already joint exercises have been held by the Coast Guards of the two countries as an anti-piracy measure.
Releasing the report here today, Mr. Som Pal, co- chairman of the Group, pointed out that although the two countries have had historical ties - Buddhism has played no mean role in this - they have been looking at each other through the eyes of the West. It was time they developed strong and direct links. It was emphasised that the Eminent Persons' Group should not (and would not) ``duplicate'' the India-Japan interaction taking place through the normal diplomatic channels. In short, it should help the relationship to grow in a number of other areas, widening its scope.
In the emerging field of Information Technology (IT), for example, the cooperation could build on the fact that Japan is strong in hardware and India in software. Close cooperation between the two countries could be mutually advantageous. In fact, there is an earlier proposal to set up an advanced IT centre here with Japan, and during this visit by Mr. Vajpayee, this could take concrete shape. Mr. Som Pal today said that cooperation in IT should have a ``missionary approach.''
The proposals by the Group cover a wide range of areas - politics and diplomacy, terrorism, matters relating to the United Nations, infrastructure development, railway reforms, and even economic reforms with a view to making it easier for investment to flow in from Japan to India. (The Japanese and others have often complained of the harassing red tapism here and today Mr. Som Pal said that this evil could not be denied). There is a view that even in the area of trade and commerce, though relations have improved over the last decade, these have not yet reached their full potential. Currently, Japan is going through recession, but that is all the more reason for Japanese businessmen to be looking towards India for a new market.
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