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United Against China?

The New York Times, 30 January 2014

In recent months, India has welcomed the Japanese emperor, then the defense minister, and last weekend, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at national Republic Day celebrations. K. Shankar Bajpai, a former secretary of Indian external affairs, said: “India and Japan can honestly say that they are not building relations in hostility against China. But it is right for them to plan for the eventuality of Chinese hostility.” Between India and Japan, this is largely a marriage of convenience.

Both have territorial disputes with China. India fought a border war with China in 1962 and, last year, had several military standoffs. But, in October, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and Prime Minister Li Keqiang of China signed an agreement pledging restraint on border issues. Japan has an escalating territorial dispute with China over islets in the East China Sea. Japanese and Chinese leaders have been unable to meet to ease the tension. And Mr. Abe has long regarded India as a powerful counterweight to China’s strategic rise.

Mr. Abe offered a $2 billion loan for an array of infrastructure investments including the expansion of the New Delhi Metro train services, the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor project and a children’s hospital. Mr. Abe and Mr. Singh agreed to discuss further Japanese aid and loans to India for nuclear power reactors and high-speed rail systems. But Mr. Singh declined to take sides in the territorial dispute between China and Japan.

What Mr. Abe got from India were agreements for the director of Japan’s national security council to meet regularly with the Indian counterpart, and to hold consultations between the countries’ defense and foreign ministers. India also invited Japan to join an India-United States naval exercise. Both India and Japan are pleased by the state of their relationship. Still, Mr. Abe should realize that India is not about to weigh in on Japan’s differences with China. He needs to coordinate his China policy with Washington, which sees little gain from confronting China.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/opinion/united-against-china.html?hpw&rref=opinion