Japan and India are set to sign a civil nuclear deal this week, as the two Asian allies look to boost economic and security ties to counter an assertive China.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe are set to sign a deal, on 11 November, that would allow Japan to export nuclear technology to the subcontinent, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
India would become the first non-signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to agree such a nuclear deal with Japan — which was the victim of US atomic bombings in the final days of World War II. The two countries are also set to agree that if India conducts a nuclear test, Japan will stop cooperation.
The expected deal comes against a backdrop of growing security concerns in the region over China’s military presence. Beijing is expanding its deep-water naval presence and asserts sovereignty over disputed areas of the East and South China Sea and Indian Ocean region, parts of which Japan also claims.
Modi will arrive in Japan on 10 November for a three-day visit, after the two men in September held talks on the sidelines of a Southeast Asia meeting in Laos.
The Express Tribune, Pakistan
