Fumio Kishida, the Japanese prime minister, has asked his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, to be harder on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although a joint statement issued following discussions in New Delhi did not explicitly criticise Moscow’s actions.
Unlike the other members of the Quad alliance, Japan, Australia, and the United States, India has voted against condemning Russia’s conduct at the United Nations, calling only for a halt to the bloodshed while continuing to buy Russian oil.
Kishida said he and Modi had a “in-depth talk” on Saturday and that “Russia’s invasion… undermines the very foundations of the international order and must be dealt with sternly.”
Modi, on the other hand, made no direct mention of Ukraine, and their joint written statement thereafter simply called for “an immediate end of bloodshed and stressed that there was no other option for resolving the issue except conversation and diplomacy.”
They “emphasised the necessity for all countries to seek peaceful resolution of issues in conformity with international law without resorting to threat or use of force or any unilateral attempt to change the status quo,” without identifying any country.
The other Quad leaders – Kishida, US President Joe Biden, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison – failed to persuade India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to support their position on Ukraine in a four-way call earlier this month.
At the time, a joint Quad statement said they “examined the ongoing conflict and humanitarian situation in Ukraine and considered its larger ramifications,” but made no mention of Russia.
The alliance must remain focused on its “primary aim… in the Indo-Pacific region,” which is to promote peace, stability, and prosperity, according to a separate Indian readout.
On Monday, Modi and Morrison will hold a virtual summit focusing on trade, during which the Australian prime minister may encourage his Indian counterpart to align more with the West on Ukraine.
Since the Soviet era, Russia has been India’s principal arms supplier, but in the face of a more aggressive China, New Delhi now needs additional backing from the Quad and others in the region and beyond.
Since a skirmish in 2020 on their disputed Himalayan frontier that killed at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers, tensions between New Delhi and Beijing have been high.
Both countries have now sent additional military gear, much of it Russian-made in India’s case, as well as thousands of extra troops to the region.
Kishida and Modi “reaffirmed their joint goal for a free and open Indo-Pacific, free of coercion” in response to China’s growing aggressiveness, which is considered as the Quad’s main concern.
Japan will realise [should it be invest?] five trillion yen ($41.9 billion) in public and private investment in India over the next five years, according to a statement released during the first visit by a Japanese prime minister to India since 2017.
According to the statement, both presidents voiced worry “about the situation in Myanmar and called for an end to violence, the release of all those incarcerated, and a return to the path of democracy.”
They also pledged to work together in the fight against climate change and denounced North Korea’s “destabilising ballistic missile launches.”
