"Arc of Freedom and Prosperity"

India and Japan are forging ahead with collaboration on political,security and economic issues besides regional cooperation.

As Noda headed to New Delhi, a Chinese official cautiously welcomed the development.Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei told the media while responding to questions on reports that Japan is looking to develop close ties with India."We are ready to actively develop our relations with Japan and India. We welcome the mutual visits between Japan and India as well as their efforts to promote regional peace and development," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei said.The India-Japan summit is a continuance of Japan's "Arc of Freedom and Prosperity" strategy, which has been widely interpreted as an effort to contain China, Lu Yaodong, director of the department of Japanese diplomacy at the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the daily.
Citing reports that Noda and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are expected to sign a currency swap accord worth up to USD 10 billion besides discussing nuclear cooperation, the daily referred to Noda's comments that he would discuss political, security, economic and human exchange and Japan's readiness to help infrastructure projects in India with Singh.
"Japan and India have comprehensively boosted regional cooperation in recent years, not only in security but also in economic ties. And the cooperation has been moving from bilateral to multilateral, trying to include the United States, Australia and India in its 'Arc of Freedom and Prosperity'," Lu said.
The "Arc of Freedom and Prosperity" is a pillar of Japan's diplomacy initiated in 2007 by former Foreign Affairs Minister Taro Aso. It has been interpreted as an effort to make allies to contain the rise of China in Asia-Pacific region, he said.
The report also noted that Noda's visit to India comes after the first round of trilateral talks in Washington last week among the US, India and Japan, and an India-Japan Defence Ministers' meeting in Tokyo in November.
There has been a renaissance in Japan-India relations since the 1990s, following their non-alignment during the Cold War, Takenori Horimoto, a professor of contemporary South Asian politics at Shobi University said.Media agencies