A mere look at this particular piece of news, upon one quick scroll, should suggest and spring to mind any among the following keywords or sentences:
Japan supporting India. Japan’s growing support for India. Closer Japan-India ties in 2020. Actually, all of them suffice to suggest a climate of close co-operation and support that exists between two Asian nations. And as a matter of fact, both Japan and India also happen to be among the renowned economies in the world, apart from also being the resounding economic powers in all of Asia.
But in 2020, amid a deeply disturbed economic climate where a genuine lack of growth is perturbing not the only problem but dwindling trade figures also some concern for not just the developed part of the world but for much of the world.
And the one main thing any nation would have loved to receive amid a climate of utter chaos all thanks to the Pandemic is support from another country.
And in India’s case, it must be said, there’s been lots from the end of Japan. If by any chance you weren’t aware what just transpired a few moments back, then here’s something that must be taken note of.
Japan is motivating all countries and enterprises that are keen to shift their business base from China to India. 2020 is, surely that year where it could be said, that China really got exposed.
China, of course, has been picked out and identified as a needless bully and aggressor of sorts. It is, for starters, the source of the very threat that’s proven itself to be utterly damaging- leading to the Coronavirus Pandemic- which in addition, to causing fatalities has also led to a climate of economic unrest.
Having said that, now Japan, understanding well that China needs to be shown its true standing in the choppy geopolitical waters, being responsible for a lot of wrong-doing, is allying even closer with India.
Of course, it’s another matter that both Japan and India, two of the most culturally rich nations in Asia, have had a long history of booming business and close economic-ties for decades altogether.
And against that narrative, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Commerce, has only just taken a bold step of sorts in that it has added, both Bangladesh and India to the list of relocation destination for companies that are keen to shift their manufacturing sites from China to the ASEAN countries.
Having said that, Japan is also focusing on another additional aim; to reduce its overall dependence on a particular region, as such to have a system in place that can:
Provide a stable supply of medical materials and electronic components in an emergency.
In addition to the above, a quick report published on India’s Economic Times, highlighted some key excerpts related to this big development that shared the following:
The government has allocated 23.5 billion yen in 2020 supplemental budget for the subsidy to encourage companies to disperse their manufacturing sites across ASEAN region.
In conjunction with the second round of applications which began on September 3, projects that will contribute to the resilience of the ASEAN-Japan supply chain were added to the list, assuming relocation plans to India and Bangladesh.
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The thing to note now, however, would be whether China will react strongly to a move taken by a country with whom it isn’t exactly enjoying a blossoming relationship.