China relations taking on a bitter tinge, Tokyo should now look to New Delhi as a reliable strategic partner, said The Times of India in an editorial published Wednesday. Excerpts: From the cultural and geopolitical standpoint, India's Look East policy first articulated in the post-Cold War years always made sense. Today, with Asia driving the global economic engine, it makes even more sense. Facing sluggish demand and protectionist irritants in recession-hit parts of the developed world, New Delhi is scouting for alternative markets and business avenues. Manmohan Singh's three-nation tour of Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam provides just the chance to arrest the drift marring the Look East enterprise in recent years. There are plenty of reasons for India and Japan to seek closer cooperation. They have agreed to a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) which, if implemented, will be a game-changer. Not just because tariffs on a large number of products will go, cheering everybody from Indian auto-parts makers to Japanese shrimp sellers. More than a free trade pact, the CEPA represents a wide-ranging economic alliance involving understanding on intellectual property and boosted investment, apart from accelerated trade in both goods and services. A liberalized visa regime is the cherry on the cake: it will dismantle barriers to business and labor movement as well as facilitate people-to-people exchange. On security, last year's India-Japan defense framework pact is set to be enhanced, including in key areas like maritime cooperation. Sensitivities on both sides notwithstanding, the two must equally strive for an accord on civil nuclear cooperation. The good news is that Japanese firms want profitable nuclear commerce. But more than their lobbying, it is India's impeccable record as a responsible nuclear power that should persuade Japan about such a deal's merits. __
