India-Japan Strategic synergy in Northeast India: Advancing Act East Policy
Northeast India: A strategic frontier
The strategic movement of India's foreign policy has increasingly centred with non-alignment since independence to multi-alignment at present status, where India primarily focused with the possible engagement with global players in sake of national interest as it's time concern. The strength of Act East Policy (AEP), launched in 2014 has its initiative with geographical determinants to which reflects the importance of geostrategic significance of Northeast India. In the words of Former Foreign Secretary of India Harsha V Shringla, "the Northeast connects India to its neighbours and to one of the most economically dynamic and politically significant geographies of the world-the ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific”. Northeast India holds margin of broader Indo-Pacific framework; manifested with the involvement of Japan's Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision align with common interest of growth, connectivity and mutual development and in context of China's increasing regional aggression. The proposed connectivity projects have the potential not only for opening up trade opportunities for the Northeast but also possibilities of reviving ethnicities among territorially divided trans-border communities.
Strategic Convergence between India-Japan in Northeast India
The contribution of first foreign nation towards the development of Northeast India has acknowledged, Tokyo has viewed Northeast India as a critical link to enhance regional stability and economic integration. Initially, September 2014, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe affirmed their commitment to cooperating in the infrastructure development of Northeast India. Japan has provided over 22,000 crores in Official Development Assistance (phases wise) to the NER in areas such as roads, water supply and sewage, electricity, healthcare, and biodiversity; the flagship support is the “North East Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project which connects enhancing connectivity in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura by constructing and upgrading national highways and bridges; “Cross-Border Road Network Improvement Project,” including bridge construction to enhance Dhaka-Benapole and Baraiyarhat-Ramgarh access; Capacity Development for mountainous regions and Emergency Management.
Japan has ensured in strengthening the health system and quality of medical, advancing consultations on cooperation for establishing a tertiary Super-Speciality Cancer and Research Centre, Sustainable Agriculture and Irrigation Development and art and cultural exchanges ensuring strategic and sustainable bridge between India and neighbouring countries aligned to Act East Policy of India.
Also, the initiative of Advantage Assam 2.0- Investment and Infrastructure Summit held in Guwahati in a month of February 2025, to which a significant memorandum of understanding was signed between Japan and India to facilitate the recruitment of skill workers from Assam for Japanese industries and also the fifth India-Japan Intellectual Conclave held on the same month, where much focus was ensured by Japan to collaborate in semiconductor and logistic in Assam followed by the advancement of strategic interest in Northeast India.
The Three Stumbling Blocks of India-Japan Strategic cooperation in Northeast India
Currently, the India-Japan's cooperation in Northeast India is considered as one of the strongest momentums that the two nations have gained over the couple of years. Keeping this in mind, there are also presence of several challenges as; Firstly, the rise of political instability among the neighbouring countries of India such as Myanmar and Bangladesh affect the connectivity projects that linked towards the development of Northeast India. Secondly, the concerns in relation to security, insurgency, and cross-border conflicts that poses risks to infrastructural and economic investments. Thirdly, the presence of administrative inefficiency, which reflects with delays in projects, negligence which poses a negative implication and a slow progress towards the development.
What would be India’s next move?
In order to overcome these challenges, India and Japan must focus towards the engagement in Northeast India by promoting multidimensional approach, in order to boost the economic integration. It is also observed that for strengthening the relationship, within Northeast India, there need to be established a joint forum with South-East Asian countries, which would promote regional cooperation and strategic investments in several dynamics like tourism, providing assistance with regional frameworks, cultural events and educational collaboration. Both the countries should also engage towards the development of BBIN for strategic steps with the Japanese private sector's investments and adaptation of sustainability and inclusive climate resilience in Northeast India region, and should come forward with more visionary projects, ensuring significant attitude towards China's aggression and maintaining strategic active policy manifestation for regional stability. In conclusion, the strategic engagement with Japan in consideration to Northeast India reflected the motive of activist policy which transformed with a greater importance in strategic development and gradual process for optimization of significant planning which ensures the rise of India as a global player, the relationship ensures a critical component for a broader active policy as both the nations indulge their contributions. for regional stability where Northeast India serve as a focal point for strategic cooperation and enhance the future of geopolitical dynamics.
Priyangshu Chakraborty is a Master's Student in Political Science at Assam (A central) University, he has researched extensively on India’s foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific region, strategic and regional cooperation and the role of Northeast India in global geopolitics.