COURT ORDER BRINGS OPPN PARTIES CLOSER

These challenges are like India’s territorial and border claims, the major difference being that they are maritime.

Chinese actions regularly threaten Japanese sovereignty in the Senkaku islands, just as India’s northern border and territories witness Chinese aggression. These issues, however, are peculiar to sovereign territorial assertion in their respective regions. For Japan, however, the threat is complex in nature with presence of North Korea, China and Russia in the region.

Northeast Asia, from a geostrategic perspective is an arc of instability with three major realms (Trade Dependent Atlantic-Pacific Realm of the United States (US), Heartlandic Realm of Russia and East Asian Realm of China) converging in the region.

In Indo-Pacific, the maritime mega-region, India and Japan have joined the reinvented QUAD with Australia and the US. Initially a humanitarian partnership in the wake of Tsunami of 2004, it is now clearly a strategic grouping. With Japan, India and Australia being natural stakeholders in the region, the US perhaps provides the connect and military muscle to the regional powers. New Delhi, Tokyo and Canberra also are part of the Trilateral Supply Chain Resilience Initiative in the wake of the pandemic.

For India, a traditional economic beneficiary of the Japan led Asian Development Bank, the burgeoning partner-

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida recently was on an official visit to India. The visit consolidated the increasing proximity between the two countries and enhanced economic and defence ties ship could reap tangible benefits. Modi Government’s quest to create world class infrastructure in the country already has significant Japanese imprint. The much-touted Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor, multiple metro projects and the Dedicated Freight Corridor are being constructed with Japanese investment and technology. PM Kishida announced USD 75 Billion as ODA to India. Furthermore, bilateral defence and technology cooperation with India featured prominently in statements released after the summit meeting. Japan’s cooperation in enhancing technological competitiveness of the Indian industry is crucial for India. Such collaboration will be more effective and beneficial when combined with the fact that Japanese industry are gradually shifting their manufacturing bases from China. India could provide a robust alternative. India and Japan in their respective regions (Indian Ocean and Northwest Pacific) are naval powers of repute.

India with its dominant strategic location and a strong navy aspires to be a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region. Similarly, the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force or the Japanese Navy is one of the most powerful in the world and is likely to make an impact on the international security architecture sooner than later. Early signs of closer defence cooperation are visible between the two. Military exercises, namely ‘Exercise Veer Guardian’ (Air Force) in January 2023 near Tokyo and another named ‘Exercise Dharma Guardian’ (Army) in February 2023 in Shiga province were conducted. Over the years Japan and Australia have participated in the India led MALABAR naval exercise in the Indian Ocean.

With cooperation between G-7 and G-20 as Japan is the current president of the former and India of the latter, this partnership could acquire global dimensions. In the strategic calculations in the Indo-Pacific and global geopolitics, India can be ‘an indispensable partner’. Assertions like ‘the rise of countries like India’ in the Global South could be a signal that New Delhi is considered for a leadership role among the developing countries. Lastly, the Chinese may aspire to be a global power, India and Japan will play prominent role in the Asian Century.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Everyone is interested in a court’s proceedings and judgments but no one tries to find out the health issues a judge has to face while sitting in the court for long hours. How severe this problem is can be best understood by the decision of the Delhi High Court’s Justice Pratibha M. Singh to stand intermittently while conducting the proceedings. Seeing Justice Singh stand and hear arguments made a unique sight on Friday but it draws attention to the serious health issue. “As judges we spend 14-16 hours sitting on chairs. It takes a toll on our health,” she said. Justice Singh went on to explain that her doctors have advised her to take hourly breaks and as that was not possible, she decided to stand up. With 50 cases listed before her, Justice Singh kept standing from 12.30 pm to 1.30 pm and then from 3.45 pm till 4.25 pm to conduct the proceedings. She has set a new precedent.

Spiritual

This one is for all those times you made an excuse for not accomplishing your goals. Bhagavad

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Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp

Birds of a feather flock together! Politics of vengeance is TMC’s brand of politics not the BJP’s. Manufacturers of faux-victimhood must understand that there is no conviction without an evidence of guilt or wrong-doing.

Kiren Rijiju @KirenRijiju

S urat court’s order convicting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case has had a unifying effect on opposition parties. On the day of the court’s verdict, the Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar chaired a meeting of some opposition leaders on electronic voting machines (EVMs). Pawar said that efficacy of EVMs was crucial for free and fair elections and the Election Commission should allay all doubts regarding EVMs. Leaders of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Shiv Sena, besides Kapil Sibal, who attended the meeting, rejected the EC’s plan to use EVMs to allow remote voting for mi-

Surat court’s order convicting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case has had a unifying effect on Opposition parties. On the day of the court’s verdict, the NCP president Sharad Pawar chaired a meeting of some Opposition leaders on EVMs grant workers. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was busy charting her own course and gave Pawar’s meeting a skip. Presumably because they have the same inclination towards the BJP, Mamata decided to meet Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha and president of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). The two discussed formation of a Third Front and resolved to make India’s federal structure stronger.

In a move indicating a possible coming together of opposition parties barring the TMC and BJD, 14 opposition parties led by Congress party moved the Supreme Court on Friday against the misuse of CBI and Enforcement Directorate to target leaders of opposition parties. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud agreed to consider the plea on April 5. The parties have requested the apex court to lay down pre and post arrest guidelines for the two agencies as “ninety-five per cent cases are against opposition leaders. The court order has brought opposition parties closer, but will they close their ranks?

We can’t blame all Gandhi surnames just because Rahul Gandhi insulted Indian democracy, our Armed forces & India’s Institutions. Rahul Gandhi made very derogatory remark and disgraced an entire OBC Community. Shockingly, some Congress leaders are trying to defend it!