Can India forge a 3-way partnership with Japan, South Korea to ‘counter China’s actions’?

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar last week visited Seoul and Tokyo, meeting his counterparts and other top politicians, in a trip focused on strengthening security and economic ties with each nation.

“There’s always been this hurdle in shaping a stable security architecture where Japan and South Korea [are] not able to work together because of historical sensitivities. India perhaps is one country that can visibly take this trilateral cooperation forward,” said Pant, the Vice-President of Studies and Foreign Policy at the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi.

During the 10th India-South Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Seoul last Wednesday, Jaishankar stressed the shared stakes of both countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

Co-chairing the meeting with his counterpart Cho Tae-yul, Jaishankar highlighted India’s interest in expanding cooperation beyond trade, defence and investment with South Korea, where a shift in China policy under President Yoon Suk-yeol has created room for countries such as India to play a more prominent role in the region.

“Japan especially places importance on its relations with India, which has nurtured its democracy and history and represents the Global South. In light of the increasingly severe security environment of today, we confirmed the need for our defence and security cooperation,” Kamikawa said.

Jaishankar, a distinguished diplomat of 38 years before he became India’s external affairs minister, is married to Kyoko Jaishankar, who is of Japanese origin. He speaks six languages, including conversational Japanese.

While a similar trilateral effort was proposed more than a decade ago, it never materialised. However, current circumstances indicate a renewed interest in