An idea whose time has come?

A DNA Analysis

NEW DELHI: At a time when Asia is emerging as the economic power house of the world, a tentative move for a strategic partnership between India-US-Japan is doing the rounds, at the moment powered by think tanks and strategists, not necessarily governments.

The first meeting of the group was held in Tokyo in January. “It is still a track two experiment,” says Naresh Chandra, former Indian ambassador to Washington. The Japanese are keen, the Aspen Group is pushing the initiative in the US. Former deputy secretary of state in the Bush administration Richard Armitage attended the meeting in Tokyo. From India, CII’s Tarun Das was also there. Later the group called on Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

It is a relatively new idea but as Ashely Tellis, strategic analyst at the Carneige Endowment for Democracy, says: “Its an idea who’s time has come.” Tellis, speaking at a symposium in the capital earlier this month emphasised that he was not speaking as a representative of the US government.

In his presentation, Tellis pointed out why such an arrangement for Asia’s security would be welcomed by the US. “Asia is the new centre of gravity,” and stability of the region will become even more important as the world gets more and more inter dependent.

A key factor, from the US perspective, would be getting together three countries with shared democratic values join forces to keep Asia an open continent. For America, democracy will remain the centrepoint for building coalitions and partnerships of the future.  However, Ashely Tellis made it quite clear that the trilateral cooperation will not be at the cost of the current US-Japan security relations. India, the new player, will be gradually accommodated into this circle.

But what happens to China? Will this be a move to contain China’s rising economic and military power. Naturally all sides deny this, saying that China can join at a later stage. “Once we talk of China, it becomes a high voltage affair, there is always room for China’s entry later,” says Naresh Chandra,  who is also part of this initiative.

Yoshihide Soeya, of Japan’s Keio university, however, was more forthright in his presentation.

“Since the end of the Cold War, the US-Japan alliance has been redefined to engage China in the medium term, and to hedge against an assertive China in the long-run. Now, Japan has to think how India would fare in this basic premise of US-Japan alliance.”