Table Of Content1111991166__99778899881111222233551188__ttpp..iinndddd 11 1122//1100//2211 22::1155 PPMM
B1948 Governing Asia
TTTThhhhiiiissss ppppaaaaggggeeee iiiinnnntttteeeennnnttttiiiioooonnnnaaaallllllllyyyy lllleeeefffftttt bbbbllllaaaannnnkkkk
BB11994488__11--AAookkii..iinndddd 66 99//2222//22001144 44::2244::5577 PPMM
1111991166__99778899881111222233551188__ttpp..iinndddd 22 1122//1100//2211 22::1155 PPMM
Published by
World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224
USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601
UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Borah, Rupakjyoti, author.
Title: The strategic relations between India, the United States and Japan in the Indo-Pacific :
when three is not a crowd / Rupakjyoti Borah, Kaziranga University, India.
Description: New Jersey: World Scientific, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020038647 (print) | LCCN 2020038648 (ebook) |
ISBN 9789811223518 (hardcover) | ISBN 9789811223525 (ebook) |
ISBN 9789811223532 (ebook other)
Subjects: LCSH: India--Foreign relations--United States. | United States--Foreign relations--India. |
India--Foreign relations--Japan. | Japan--Foreign relations--India. |
Japan--Foreign relations--United States. | United States--Foreign relations--Japan. |
Indo-Pacific Region--Strategic aspects. | India--Foreign relations--1984–
Classification: LCC DS450.U6 B67 2022 (print) | LCC DS450.U6 (ebook) | DDC 327.54052--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020038647
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020038648
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copyright © 2022 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval
system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the publisher.
For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance
Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy
is not required from the publisher.
For any available supplementary material, please visit
https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/11916#t=suppl
Desk Editors: Aanand Jayaraman/Lixi Dong
Typeset by Stallion Press
Email: [email protected]
Printed in Singapore
AAaannaanndd JJaayyaarraammaann -- 1111991166 -- TThhee SSttrraatteeggiicc RReellaattiioonnss BBeettwweeeenn IInnddiiaa,, tthhee UUnniitteedd SSttaatteess aanndd JJaappaann..iinndddd 11 1144//1100//22002211 99::5588::3399 aamm
6"×9" b4063 Strategic Relations Between India
Dedicated to my wife, Maushumi and my two sons,
Hurjyudoy and Bishwabhiraj
bb44006633__FFMM..iinndddd 55 1100//1133//22002211 1122::0099::4400 PPMM
B1948 Governing Asia
TTTThhhhiiiissss ppppaaaaggggeeee iiiinnnntttteeeennnnttttiiiioooonnnnaaaallllllllyyyy lllleeeefffftttt bbbbllllaaaannnnkkkk
BB11994488__11--AAookkii..iinndddd 66 99//2222//22001144 44::2244::5577 PPMM
6"×9" b4063 Strategic Relations Between India
Foreword
As Professor Borah argues persuasively, we are entering a period of
extreme uncertainty in international relations. The combination of a
revived nationalism in many countries, great power competition despite
continuing mutual economic dependence, a consequential decline in mul-
tilateral cooperation, and the economic and political disruption caused by
the pandemic, have all made it unusually difficult to describe the shifting
international landscape with confidence. Nowhere is this state of flux
more evident than in the Indo-Pacific region, where China’s economic and
political strength and strategic reach have unsettling implications for the
country’s neighbours. In such circumstances, governments need to be
clear about where they stand and to reinforce relationships with countries
with whom they share interests and values. The author of this timely book
has a well-deserved reputation for the clarity of his political and strategic
regional analysis, in this case of the strengthening of relations between the
United States. India and Japan. His book deserves to be widely read.
Although two of the three leaders whose foreign policy in the region he
examines have now left the scene, the situation which gave rise to a new
kind of trilateral relationship remains essentially unchanged. It will be
interesting to see in the period ahead if the three governments will follow
his advice and consolidate the relationship with new institutional arrange-
ments or will continue the present ad hoc and fluid pattern.
James Mayall
Emeritus Professor of International Relations, University of Cambridge
August 2021
vii
bb44006633__FFMM..iinndddd 77 1100//1133//22002211 1122::0099::4400 PPMM
B1948 Governing Asia
TTTThhhhiiiissss ppppaaaaggggeeee iiiinnnntttteeeennnnttttiiiioooonnnnaaaallllllllyyyy lllleeeefffftttt bbbbllllaaaannnnkkkk
BB11994488__11--AAookkii..iinndddd 66 99//2222//22001144 44::2244::5577 PPMM
6"×9" b4063 Strategic Relations Between India
Preface
In his famous book, Beautiful Japan, Japanese PM Shinzō Abe notes that
it would not be a surprise if Japan–India relations overtake Japan–US ties
or Japan–China ties. He has also noted many times in the past that “the
India–Japan relationship has the greatest potential of any bilateral rela-
tionship in the world.”1
While this seems far from true in the present times, there can be no
doubt that it might become a reality in the years ahead, especially with PM
Abe at the helm in Japan and his counterpart PM Modi holding the reins
of power in India. In 2019, PM Modi was re-elected with a thumping
majority and this has given him a huge deal of leverage on the foreign
policy front. On the other hand, PM Abe is in a strong position domesti-
cally in Japan and has been able to stitch together a strong personal bond
with the US President, Donald Trump. He has been at the forefront of
Japan’s push for better ties with India, which goes back to the times of his
maternal grandfather and former Prime Minister of Japan, Nobosuke
Kishi. He has also been advocating the concept of the “Indo-Pacific”,
right from his earlier term as the Prime Minister of Japan in 2006. On the
other hand, PM Modi has laid the foundation of a new era in the foreign
policy domain for India with his advocacy of the “Act East Policy” and
his push for better and closer ties with countries like Japan and the United
States.
1 “India–Japan bilateral relationship has greatest potential: Abe”, The Hindu, 2015, https://
www.thehindu.com/news/international/indiajapan-bilateral-relationship-has-greatest-
potential-abe/article7904075.ece, accessed on July 5, 2020.
ix
bb44006633__FFMM..iinndddd 99 1100//1133//22002211 1122::0099::4400 PPMM
