India, Sept. 1 -- If you keep out the US, which is on a long geopolitical vacation from the Indo-Pacific, Japan is India's most consequential strategic partner in the region. Japan may not have significant military power, but it possesses the strategic intent and political will to shape the Indo-Pacific. India has the military power and strategic intent, but one could argue that it needs more political will and economic power to shape the region. That is why India and Japan are such compelling and natural Indo-Pacific partners. The New Delhi-Tokyo strategic partnership, carefully nurtured in the midst of geopolitical headwinds and domestic political changes in Tokyo, now needs a quantum leap. So, what is so special about the partnership? Three sets of factors drive the strategic convergence that defines it. First, the two countries' strategic convergence is shaped, in a big way, by the interplay of US-China relations, China's regional assertiveness, and the degree to which the US prioritises the region. These ever-changing dynamics of great power politics in the Indo-Pacific have led Tokyo and New Delhi to recognise their mutual interest in influencing regional power dynamics, considering the centrality of the region to their security. There is little doubt that what happens in the Indo-Pacific has a defining impact on both Japan and India. In that sense, their engagement in the Indo-Pacific through initiatives such as Quad, Malabar, and MILAN aims to shape the region's geopolitics. Trilateral cooperation among India, Japan, and third countries in South Asia and Africa also reflects the intent to stabilise the region and create an alternative to various China-led projects. A second set of factors driving the two countries' partnership is the increasing economic, technological, and soft power engagement between the two. While the bilateral trade volume remains modest, Japanese businesses have steadily increased their presence in the Indian market. The announcements made during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan last week have been promising too. Trade in strategic sectors is also at the top of the agenda; critical minerals, digital transformation, supply chain resilience, clean energy, digital cooperation, and space have been in focus. Third, what has really helped the bilateral relationship stand the test of the tumultuous times is the mutual respect and tolerance they have for each other's concerns and sensitivities. Tokyo is uniquely skilled at communicating sensitive messages to India discreetly and respectfully. This might seem simple, but in an era where strategic partnerships are strained by a lack of respect, the importance of discretion and respect cannot be overemphasised. The fact that the positive momentum of their bilateral relationship has remained consistent through domestic political shifts in Japan and geopolitically testing times underscores its robustness. The key to their successful strategic partnership is this: New Delhi and Tokyo address their differences privately while maintaining a clear focus on their larger goals. So, what are those larger goals? A significant challenge for both New Delhi and Tokyo is managing the complexities and unpredictability of the US-China relationship in the Indo-Pacific. What the US and China do in the region and the nature of their bilateral relationship are of great consequence for India and Japan. In fact, the dynamics of US-China relations - such as the American commitment to the region, Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific, and the overall state of their relationship - significantly influence the India-Japan partnership. Hypothetically speaking, if the US maintains a strong military commitment to the region and effectively deters Chinese aggression, Japan might have less incentive to strengthen its ties with India. Similarly, if Beijing is more accommodating of Indian interests, Delhi may be less inclined to seek partnerships to counterbalance China (even if doing so is strategically advisable). There are also fundamental differences in their strategic outlooks. India is less likely to follow the US' strategic priorities in the region and, as a function of that, it is more likely to seek a working relationship with China. Japan, on the other hand, is more inclined to align with the US' strategic priorities and is heavily influenced by the US relationship with China. Despite the strong economic ties between China and Japan, Japan is likely to pick the US over China if it comes to that, unlike India, which is likely to pick neither unless its national security is at stake. In that sense, India's multi-alignment and Japan's alignment with the US are reflective of differing strategic worldviews. But it is also clear that neither side will join the Chinese bandwagon nor accept Chinese unipolarity in Asia. As a former great power, Japan is unlikely to accept a China-dominated Asia. For its part, India, as a rising great power, will not willingly accept Chinese unipolarity in Asia. Such a shared concern also gives them enough reason to jointly consider ways of preventing the emergence of a China-dominated Asia. So, what next? For a start, there must be a deepening of trade and investment. With a bilateral trade of only $23 billion, heavily favouring Japan, the India-Japan economic relationship is weak compared to India's $130 billion trade with China and Japan's $300 billion trade with Beijing. During PM Modi's visit to Tokyo, Japan pledged to invest $68 billion in India, a promising start. Also, the strategic convergence between India and Japan must be infused with more granularity, especially in light of the unpredictable American commitment to the Indo-Pacific. For critical minerals, India and Japan should consider engaging with key regional producers like Australia and Indonesia. Such an "Asian Quad" on critical minerals has immense potential to reset the global balance of power in that sector. Although the "Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation" between India and Japan, signed during Modi's visit to Tokyo, highlights a keen desire for greater security and defence collaboration between Delhi and Tokyo, it stops short of proposing concrete action. The key now is to translate the declaration's wealth of promising ideas, some 41 of them, into tangible initiatives. The building blocks for strong India-Japan strategic ties are firmly in place. They now need a quantum leap forward, or the two countries' relationship risks stagnation in the Indo-Pacific, never reaching its full potential....