The agreement between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his visiting Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to deepen economic and security cooperation came in the wake of Abe's visit to China last week, where he expressed hopes to lift Japan-China relations into "a new era." Right after returning from the three-day trip to China, Abe welcomed the Indian leader to his vacation home at the foot of Mount Fuji. They agreed on launching the so-called two-plus-two meeting of foreign and defense ministers of the two countries, resuming a currency swap accord to the tune of $75 billion and more than ¥300 billion in yen loans to finance India's infrastructure projects including a high-speed railway using Japan's shinkansen system.
The progress in Japan-India relations in recent years has often been viewed as an effort by both countries to counter China's expanding economic and political influence in Asia. The latest Abe-Modi talks, however, was preceded by Abe's China visit — the first official one by a Japanese prime minister in seven years — in yet another indication of the improvement in Tokyo-Beijing ties that had once been severely strained by the dispute over the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture. Abe agreed with top Chinese leaders on a wide range of cooperation, including joint infrastructure-building projects in third countries, and expressed hopes to shift the bilateral relations from "competition to collaboration."
The key for Japan-India relations going forward will be whether the two countries can elevate their ties to new stages on the basis of their latest agreements, instead of as a counterweight to China's rise. Abe hailed Japan-India ties as having "the largest potential for development for any bilateral relationship anywhere in the world." Whether the two countries can realize that potential will be tested from now.