India, Japan launch maritime dialogue

The mishap at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station continued to loom large on the proposed India-Japan civil nuclear cooperation agreement, even as New Delhi and Tokyo on Monday announced the launch of a bilateral maritime dialogue to strengthen strategic partnership.

Though External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba reviewed the progress in the negotiation for a bilateral civil nuclear deal and gave instructions to the officials on the way forward, both New Delhi and Tokyo appeared keen to tread cautiously.

The two countries, however, also “affirmed the need to cooperate to enhance nuclear safety based on the experience and the lessons learned from the accident” at the atomic power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Corporation at Fukushima in the wake of the tsunami that hit the east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011.

Nuclear cooperation

“We also discussed the possibility of civil nuclear cooperation between our countries. We have instructed our negotiators on the way forward,” Krishna said at a joint press conference with Gemba. The two ministers led the Indian and Japanese sides in the sixth strategic dialogue that was held in New Delhi.  They agreed to launch regular dialogues on maritime and cyber-security issues between officials. “India is situated in an important place in the important sea lanes linking Japan and Middle East. India’s role is vital for peace and stability in the region. The dialogue will also contribute to peace and in the world,” said Gemba.  

The Indian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force will hold their first joint naval exercise off the coast of Japan in June.

Gemba said the two sides would move ahead with negotiations to conclude a pact for nuclear cooperation and arrive at a mutually satisfactory outcome. He, however, re-affirmed Japan’s commitment to the cause of disarmament and non-proliferation.
Sources, however, told Deccan Herald that although a few more informal rounds of negotiation might take place in the coming months before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s proposed visit to Tokyo for the annual India-Japan summit in December, the two countries are unlikely to rush into an agreement.

India and Japan in June 2010 started formal negotiations for a civil nuclear cooperation agreement. But Tokyo’s decision to enter into nuke talks with New Delhi sparked off strong reactions from the anti-nuclear activists in Japan, as India refused to sign the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty.

Being the only country in the world to have really experienced the devastations that atomic bombs could cause, Japan has strong public sentiments against proliferation of nuclear weapons.