PM SINGH TO FOCUS ON SECURITY COOPERATION,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 002744

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2018
TAGS: PROV PREL JA IN
SUBJECT: PM SINGH TO FOCUS ON SECURITY COOPERATION,
ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP IN JAPAN VISIT

Classified By: A/PolCouns Pushpinder Dhillon for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will focus on
enhancing Indo-Japan security cooperation and economic
cooperation during his October 21-23 visit to Japan. He will
have an audience with the Emperor, and meet with Prime
Minister Aso and Energy Minister Nikai. PM Singh will be
accompanied by a business delegation, which will hold a forum
with Japanese counterparts on areas for two-way investment.
Nuclear cooperation and an Economic Partnership Agreement are
conspicuously absent from the draft Joint Statement. End
Summary.

The Summit
--------------


2. (C) Japanese Embassy New Delhi Political Officer Yuji
Suzuki briefed PolOffs that during Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh,s October 21-23 visit to Tokyo, Singh will meet the
Emperor and Empress, Prime Minister Taro Aso, and Energy
Minister Toshihiro Nikai. Singh will also bring with him a
delegation of Indian business leaders who will meet with
Japanese counterparts to discuss bilateral investment
opportunities, with a goal of preparing proposals to present
to the prime ministers. The summit will release two joint
statements signed by the leaders: one on a bilateral
cooperation framework and another on security cooperation,
according to Suzuki. Business leaders will sign a
non-binding economic cooperation document.

The Security Cooperation Framework
--------------

3. (U) The Joint Statement on Security Cooperation Framework
will consist of three parts: elements of existing
cooperation, mechanisms of cooperation, and -- importantly,
according to Suzuki -- an implementation plan. Elements of
existing cooperation will cite the continuing dialogue of
Foreign Ministers and Foreign Secretaries and defense
exchanges. Under the mechanisms of cooperation, Suzuki noted
disaster relief, combating terrorism and terrorist financing,
maritime security, and the Proliferation Security Initiative
(PSI -- of which India has expressed interest in joining) as
areas in which new mechanisms of cooperation might be set up.
He told PolOffs that the action plan for implementation is a
work in progress, to be completed before the expected visit
of the Japanese Prime Minister to India early in 2009. It
will focus on institutionalizing mechanisms in the framework.
He also noted that Japan sees this security framework pact
as a complement to its regional strategy, specifically
mentioning similarities between this agreement and the one
Japan has with Australia. On an interesting side note,
during a Track II U.S.-India-Japan conference taking place in
Delhi October 18, several of Japan's private industry
participants noted the possibility of Japan in the near
future revising Article 9 of the constitution, as well as its
three export principles. These businessmen called for
defense cooperation to be a vehicle for broader bilateral
economic growth.

Contents (and Not) of the Joint Statement on Cooperation
--------------

4. (C) The Joint Statement on Cooperation will focus on
economic cooperation, according to Suzuki, while touching on
many other issues. The Dedicated Freight Corridor agreement
will be featured, as Japan will announce a $4.5 billion
investment for it, but a final project proposal will remain
pending as Japan feels it needs a concrete commitment from
the Indians on many of the technical requirements that are
required to determine the exact cost. Japan will announce
its assistance for the establishment of a new Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) in Hyderabad, with Tokyo
offering technological expertise and faculty exchanges. The
Joint Statement will also call for closer cooperation between
India and Japan in several multilateral fora and on
transnational issues, such as addressing the global financial

NEW DELHI 00002744 002 OF 002


crisis, working to advance the Doha Round, cooperating on
counter-terrorism, strengthening the East Asia Community, and
promoting UN reform, including permanent seats on the UN
Security Council for Japan and India as called for by the
Group of Four (G4). While climate change will be one
paragraph in the statement, it is noteworthy that such a
diminutive mention is in stark contrast to the multi-page,
separate statement made during PM Shinzo Abe's visit to New
Delhi in August of 2007.


5. (C) Japanese Ambassador Hideki Domichi told PolOff that
this joint statement can be looked at also for what is not in
it, specifically the lack of an agreement on an Economic
Partnership Agreement (EPA) and no mention of civilian
nuclear cooperation. Despite Tokyo's efforts to resolve what
Domichi described as only minor remaining differences, India
would not agree to the EPA, so the announcement during
Singh's visit will merely note "substantial progress" toward
concluding an EPA, as opposed to the "agreement in principal"
Tokyo had been aiming for. Suzuki admitted to PolOffs that
one sticking point is Japan's reluctance to recognize Indian
pharmaceutical approval procedures. Also missing from the
statement will be substantive mention of nuclear cooperation.
Suzuki related that India would like to include a section on
nuclear cooperation, but Japan,s domestic sensitivities make
it difficult to accept. Pressed on whether Japanese
companies like Mitsubishi are interested in building nuclear
plants in India, Suzuki said the Japanese people's
sensitivities to nuclear issues will necessitate it remains
on the sidelines as other countries, such as the U.S. and
France, take the lead on opening the Indian market.

Comment: Friendship Checkup on the Way to ASEM
--------------


6. (C) Comment. PM Singh's visit is a stop which was planned
prior to Taro Aso becoming prime minister, on Singh's way to
Beijing for the October 24-25 Asia-Europe Meeting. As such,
Indian analysts, such as C. Raja Mohan in his comments to
PolOff, believe Delhi had few expectations of major
deliverables or policy initiatives, and Suzuki's preview of
the joint statements confirmed this visit will primarily be
an affirmation of the growing, warm relations between the two
countries. Indians are curious as to how long Aso's
government will remain intact, and with India facing its own
general elections within the next seven months, we are
unlikely to see any major initiatives before Summer 2009.
Still, this visit could portend a giant leap forward soon,
particularly if new administrations in Tokyo and Delhi are
willing/able to capitalize on the security cooperation goals
being put forward during this visit. Should the security
framework being laid out on this visit materialize as hoped,
Japan and India could, down the road, be seen in operations
together ranging from providing maritime security in the
Straits of Malacca and Hormuz to supporting Japanese ships
involved in Operation Enduring Freedom to Japan providing
much-desired advanced technology in defense equipment. The
economic cooperation markers being laid during this visit,
too, while perhaps not immensely significant themselves,
should pave the way for the eventual EPA and much greater
economic cooperation down the road. Generally speaking,
greater Japan-India relations support U.S. interests in the
region, so while this visit won't offer much in concrete
terms, it is more good news for the ties between our two
large Asian strategic partners.
WHITE