Editorial : Touching base: On PM Modi’s visit to Japan

PM Modi’s visit to Japan should clarify the shared reading of a changing world order
Ever since they institutionalised(संस्थागत/प्रतिष्ठापन का) annual summit-level meetings in 2006, India and Japan have held a closely aligned( गठबंधन) world-

view. Prime Minister Narendra Modi now heads to Japan for meetings with his Japanese counterpart(समकक्ष/प्रतिवस्तु), Shinzo Abe, and they are expected(उम्मीद कर रहे/अपेक्षित) to take stock of all the challenges they face, notably(विशेषकर/प्रमुख रूप से) with regard to the U.S. and China. President Donald Trump’s recent actions on trade (व्यापार )tariffs, sanctions(मंजुर/प्रतिबंधों) against(विरुद्ध/विपरीत) Iran and Russia, as well as the U.S.’s exit from several(कई/अनेक) multilateral and security regimes(व्यवस्था/शासन-पद्धति) are impacting(प्रभावित करना) both countries in different ways. For India, the impact is more direct, as the economy has been hurt by new American tariffs, review of its GSP (trading) status, and restrictions on visas for professionals(निपुण/पेशेवरों)). Moreover, possible U.S. sanctions over Indian engagement(संधि/जुड़ाव with Iran as well as defence purchases(खरीद) from Russia pose a looming(उभरते/अस्पष्ट देख पड़ना) challenge. For Japan too, U.S. trade tariffs are a concern(चिंता/मामला) and Washington’s exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership is corralling Southeast Asian countries into a free trade(व्यापार) regime under Chinese domination(वर्चस्व/प्रभुत्व). In addition(संयोजन/वृद्धि),the U.S.’s on-again, off-again nuclear negotiations(वार्ता/बातचीत) with North Korea are keeping Tokyo on tenterhooks. India and Japan must closely cooperate on how to manage these challenges from the U.S. while maintaining their growing(बढ़ती)security ties with Washington, as members of the trilateral(त्रिपक्षीय) and quadrilateral(चतुर्भुज) formations(संरचनाएं) in the Indo-Pacific. The other common concern is managing an increasingly(वृद्धि से/विस्तार से) influential(प्रभावशाली/प्रभावी) China. Mr. Abe will meet Mr. Modi a day after he returns from a visit to Beijing, the first by a Japanese Prime Minister in seven years. Mr. Modi has re-engaged Beijing through multiple meetings with President Xi Jinping this year. The Prime Ministers are bound to compare notes on the way forward with their common neighbour, especially on building and financing alternatives(विकल्प)to China’s Belt and Road projects for countries along the “Asia-Africa growth corridor(रास्ता/गलियारा)”.

On the bilateral(द्विपक्षीय ) front(सम्मुख होना/मोर्चा), there are several(कई ) loose ends that Mr. Modi and Mr. Abe will work to tie up. The Shinkansen bullet train project has gathered(एकत्र/संगृहीत) speed, with the Japan International Cooperation Agency releasing the first tranche of ₹5,500 crore recently. But it could still(फिर भी/शांत ) run into delays over land acquisition(लाभ/अधिग्रहण ) issues. India and Japan have stepped up military exchanges, and will begin negotiations on a landmark acquisition and cross-servicing logistics(रसद/सैन्य-तं‍त्र) agreement(समझौते). However, there has been little movement on the pending purchase of ShinMaywa US-2 amphibian(उभयचर) aircraft(विमान). And while Japanese investment has grown several-fold( कई गुना,) in India, trade figures are lower than levels five years ago. None of these issues is insurmountable(दुर्बल, /विकट/दुर्गम)and the larger concerns of how to navigate(संचालन ) uncharted and stormy(तीव्र/तूफानी) geopolitical terrain(इलाक़ा/भूभाग), while maintaining strong positions on the international rules-based order, are likely to dominate Mr. Modi’s visit.

Important Vocabulary

1.Sanctions(मंजुर/प्रतिबंधों)
Synonyms: approval, acquiescence, allowance, approbation, assent
Antonyms: denial, disagreement, disapproval, discouragement, opposition

2.Impacting(प्रभावित करना)
Synonyms: jolt, clash, collide, crash, crush
Antonyms: compliment, lose, praise

3.Professionals(निपुण/पेशेवरों)
Synonyms: artist, expert, pro, specialist, adept
Antonyms: amateur, rookie, apprentice, greenhorn

4.Concern(चिंता/मामला)
Synonyms: burden, interest, involvement, matter, thing
Antonyms: entertainment, fun, pastime, unemployment, disinterest

5.Regimes(व्यवस्था/शासन-पद्धति)
Synonyms: administration, establishment, government, management, reign

6.Looming(उभरते/अस्पष्ट देख पड़ना
Synonyms: approaching, imminent, impending, appearing, emerging
Antonyms: distant, later, remote

7.Addition(संयोजन/वृद्धि)
Synonyms: extension, inclusion, accession, annexation, attachment
Antonyms: decrease, deduction, lessening, loss, reduction

8.Domination(वर्चस्व/प्रभुत्व)
Synonyms: dictatorship, dominance, influence, oppression, repression
Antonyms: democracy, inferiority, subservience, weakness, inability

9.Growing(बढ़ती)
Synonyms: burgeoning, developing, expanding, flourishing, spreading
Antonyms: failing, languishing, dead, dying, shrinking

10.Formations(संरचनाएं) 
Synonyms: arrangement, construction, creation, design, development
Antonyms: decrease, destruction, disorganization, ruin, stoppage

11.Corridor(रास्ता/गलियारा)”
Synonyms: aisle, foyer, hall, lobby, passage

12.Increasingly(वृद्धि से/विस्तार से)
Synonyms: more, more and more, progressively, with acceleration
Antonyms: decreasingly, less

13.Gathered(एकत्र/संगृहीत/)
Synonyms: accumulated, collected, concentrated, huddled, massed
Antonyms: separated, dispersed, scattered

14.Acquisition(लाभ/अधिग्रहण )
Synonyms: addition, gain, procurement, purchase, recovery
Antonyms: loss, failure, forfeit, surrender, dearth

15.Insurmountable(दुर्बल, /विकट/दुर्गम
Synonyms: hopeless, impassable, impregnable, invincible, overwhelming
Antonyms: beatable, attainable, defeatable, possible, surmountable

16.Terrain(इलाक़ा/भूभाग),
Synonyms: area, contour, field, ground, land
Antonyms: sky

17.Stormy(तीव्र/तूफानी) 
Synonyms: bitter, blustery, damp, frigid, murky
Antonyms: calm, dry, gentle, mild, moderate

18.Navigate(संचालन )
Synonyms: cross, cruise, handle, maneuver, operate
Antonyms: neglect, forget, get lost

19.Several(कई )
Synonyms: a few, a lot, any, certain, considerable
Antonyms: none, one