Japan-India plan should add to China's initiative, not challenge it

Japanese government offices have requested a record budget of $913 billion for fiscal 2018, with the Foreign Ministry seeking a bigger sum for the country's official development assistance, or ODA. In recent years, Japan has increased its ODA to countries along the routes of the China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which together comprise the Belt and Road Initiative. Alone as well as with India, Japan is trying to minimize China's influence in those countries and regions.

Neither Japan nor India has "joined" the Belt and Road Initiative, though Japan has shown interest in it in recent months. In 2013, President Xi Jinping unveiled the initiative which spans 60-odd countries across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

During his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's visit to Japan last November, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a joint project called "Asia-Africa Growth Corridor" or the "freedom corridor", in a bid to build sea corridors to extend their influence from the Asia-Pacific to Africa.