India and Japan yesterday vowed to push for an economic partnership agreement by December, as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged New Delhi to join Tokyo in the creation of an Asian "arc of freedom."
Abe, in India on a three-day visit, called for a "broader Asia" partnership of democracies that would include India, the US and Australia, but leave out the region's superpower, China.
Abe's comments came in an address to a joint session of India's parliament, at the start of a high-profile visit that aims to boost trade between Asia's largest and third-largest economies and counter China's growing strength.
About 200 businessmen are accompanying Abe on the visit.
Abe laid out his vision for a new four-way "arc of freedom and prosperity" bringing together Australia, India, Japan and the US.
"This partnership is an association in which we share fundamental values such as freedom, democracy and respect for basic human rights as well as strategic interests," Abe told lawmakers and diplomats in a speech that did not name China.
"By Japan and India coming together in this way, this `broader Asia' will evolve into an immense network spanning the entirety of the Pacific Ocean, incorporating the United States of America and Australia," he said.
While Abe has improved ties with China, which frayed under his predecessor, he has also stressed the need to forge closer links with democracies in what analysts have said was a tacit criticism of Beijing.
Tokyo has sought to build closer security ties with the US, Australia and India, and its navy is due to take part for the first time in joint US-India exercises to be held in the Bay of Bengal next month.
But in a sign that New Delhi was keen not to upset China -- which is likely to soon be its biggest trade partner -- Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon warned on Monday against a "zero sum game" with Beijing.
The trip, however, was not just about politics.
India was using the visit to woo much-needed investment to build infrastructure projects from transport to nuclear power.
The sheer size of the Japanese business delegation -- outstripping a recent Abe trip to the Middle East -- testified to the importance of business ties.
India's poor transport network and frequent power shortages are seen as hindering its ability to compete with its major global competitor, China.
Also see story:
Toyota eyes small-car market in India
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he