TeaSecurity competition in Asia continues to intensify. Japan recently announced a dramatic change in its traditional security policy With a new security and defense strategy document and promises to scrap its old policy of keeping its military budget below one percent of GDP. plans to develop a plethora of military capabilities to try and stop Tokyo, If necessary, defeat the threats from China and North Korea.
While some argue that Asian countries do not face any threat from China and they are not trying to counter In this, Japan’s dramatic metamorphosis would seem to suggest strongly the opposite. Especially since Tokyo’s traditionally limited defense spending has been projected as evidence of its lack of Sino-balancing in the region.
In addition, document, sometimes oblique and sometimes straight, Mention China as the major security problem facing Japan. For example, the National Security Strategy states that “China’s current external posture, military activities and other activities have become a matter of grave concern to Japan.”
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India’s takeaway
There are at least three broad conclusions more lessons Which can be drawn from Japan’s change in strategic direction. First, and most fundamentally, India needs to come up with its own national security strategy that outlines the key challenges country faces and how it plans to deal with these changes.
Even China, which is often accused of lack of transparency, produces from time to time white paper on defense. that they are Soft is a separate issue, The last public document produced by India was the Group of Ministers reports on national security, which wasn’t really a strategy paper and, In any case, is more than two decades old.
Such a public strategy paper serves several purposes. For one, it is an essential medium for coordinating tasks within different departments. Of Government, which often works at cross purposes entangled in bureaucratic politics. A document alone will not solve these internal problems, But it will go a long way in keeping everyone on the same page. Coordinating and justifying programs and actions Can introduce some discipline in the context of a broader strategic framework. A “whole government” Approach is often said in Government of India, but it needs a road map.
moreover, it will signal to both friends and foes where India stands. Certainly, this could be a reason why Indian decision makers do not want to come up with a strategy paper as they feel it could lead to trouble, especially with potential opponents.
Another fear could be that it would reduce India’s strategic flexibility. Don’t worry about dismissing them lightly. For example, the Japanese strategy document has been criticized China by Russia, and North Korea. But as the Japanese strategy paper shows, creative writing can be broad enough to deflect such criticisms, especially from a country like China that does not indicate that any formulation of the words will satisfy it.
Beyond that, it’s the action that counts, and India’s currencyChina, like its membership of the Quad, has also come in for Chinese criticism. Anyhow, the Indian bureaucracy is smart enough to write in such a way that it doesn’t even tie its hands in the future.,
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Avoid over-reliance on America
The second conclusion drawn from the Japanese documents is that all countries in the region, especially those capable, need to bear a greater share of the burden to counter China, rather than relying on the US to strike a balance.
Allegations that the Americans were allies free riding But us for security has been a persistent issue in America’s relations with its allies and partners. this happened in the last two days cold war and emerging security competition China, It was a rational reaction on the part of American allies, because in general, no country likes to spend its Money on unproductive expenses like national defense. This is especially true in democracies, Where? governments should meet many Social welfare demands that directly affect electoral calculations.
free ride temptation Is It gets worse when other people are available to shoulder the burden. In the bipolar Cold War contest, the US was the source of this temptation. Washington had no choice but to bear the burden of balancing the Soviet Union and the slack caused by its allies and partners. The situation has worsened since then, with most NATO members failing to keep their promises. Expense Two per cent of their GDP on defence.
Japan has been somewhat different. The issues of its legacy of regional imperialism made it vulnerable to accusations of new militarism and provided an additional rationale for free-riding on the US security shield.s, Thus, keeping its defense budget below one per cent, it was a commitment to demonstrate its calmness in the neighborhood He was still suspicious of Japan, perhaps not for the only reason.
Despite the sensitivities of its heritage as well as the free-riding temptation, Japan has now decided that its security situation is dire enough. for It has to do more to strengthen the security partnership with the US to counter China.
This becomes a major imperative for American partners in the bipolar competition between the US and China as the relative wealth balance between two nations is too much Compared to America and the Soviet Union. This means that the US will not be able to bear the same burden of balancing China as it could with the Soviet Union. If Washington’s partners in Asia, including India, do not share One Substantial weight of the burden, China will not be balanced. In an extreme case, it can be One Lack of US commitment to balance China to the detriment of the Asian powers.
A change in the burden-sharing ratio also requires a change in the partners’ responsibilities, which Washington also needs to recognise.
So far, the US has been able to put its larger concerns about stability ahead of the security needs of its smaller partners. An example is nuclear weapons, where the US forced its allies to depend its Nuclear guarantees, though it is not clear whether they were necessarily well served by such a sacrifice. Taiwan, South Korea, And even Japan may come to regret the choices it made to give up its nuclear capability for US security guarantees, even if these were “choices” made under US pressure.
New Japanese document explicitly talks about buying long-range retaliatory capabilities, such as US-built hatchet Cruise Missiles. There are early signs of hope that the US will be ready to share weapons, which suggests it It is also acknowledging that it needs more capable allies with offensive capabilities of their own.
A related third conclusion is about the need for offensive retaliatory capabilities. Japan plans to invest in both cruise missiles and hypersonics. As the Russian war against Ukraine demonstrates, the lack of a retaliatory deterrence capability can open a country up to impunity. bombing civilians, as Russia is doing, rarely help militarily, but they endanger civilian populations in the absence of retaliatory deterrence capability. India has invested in conventional and dual-use missiles, But considering the need of China, It probably needs longer range conventional missiles. Of course, given China’s stockpile of conventional missiles, India also needs a large amount.
The writer is Professor of International Politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. He tweeted @RRajagopalanJNU. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Tarannum Khan)