General Affairs and Networking Program

Roundtable with Dr. Happymon Jacob on India’s foreign and security policies in the Pacific Region

By Marie Shibayama, Research Fellow, Security Studies Program, Sasakawa Peace Foundation

December 10, 2024

2 Min. Read

On Friday, November 15, the Security Studies Program hosted a roundtable with Dr. Happymon Jacob, an Associate Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the founder of his own think tank, Council for Strategic and Defense Research (CSDR).

Under the theme of “India in the Pacific – the 3rd Modi Administration’s Foreign and Security Agenda and its Engagements in the Pacific Region,” participants had a wide-ranging discussion on India’s foreign and security policies.

Related Report:
"Japan-India-France Trilateral Dialogue: The Emerging Politics of the Indo-Pacific" by Yogesh Joshi, Ippeita Nishida, Shavinyaa Vijaykumarr

U.S. President Donald Trump has returned to the White House. Since the presidential election last fall, India has stood in contrast to the majority of countries who have been nervously awaiting the arrival of Trump 2.0. On November 6th 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to have been waiting for Trump’s declaration of victory when he posted a number of photos on his X page, showing the two together during affectionate moments in his first term. The photos were accompanied with congratulations for Trump’s “historic election victory”, calling him “my friend.” Not only that, he directly phoned him on the same day. The elated Trump praised both India and Modi as “magnificent”, and extolled them as a “true friend.”

March 17, 2025

General Affairs and Networking Program

SPF China Observer: Requestioning the Meaning of “Peaceful Settlement” Visit to Beijing brought a renewed realization of the Japan-China perception gap

In December 2024, I had an opportunity to make a visit to Beijing for the first time since I retired from the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and became a civilian. This visit became an occasion to realize anew that after half a century since the normalization of diplomatic relations, there still remains a profound perception gap between Japan and China. In this article, I would like to introduce some examples.

March 12, 2025

General Affairs and Networking Program