Securitization in the Indo-Pacific: A Comparative Discourse Analysis of India’s and Japan’s Responses to the “China Threat”

Through the lens of securitization theory, this paper comparatively analyzes important Indo-Pacific issues in the context of India’s and Japan’s responses to China’s rise. The India–Japan partnership is often touted as a bulwark against the “China threat” in the region. Yet their China policies and bilateral actions do not always align. This paper takes the position that the act of securitization is what reveals a state’s threat perceptions, thereby giving credence to the other state’s extant material capabilities. Studying this context enables a better understanding as to how a state perceives threats and when and why states choose to align (or not) on certain issues. A discourse analysis of India’s and Japan’s securitization practices in three case studies finds that India and Japan do demonstrate “common” securitization practices such as with maritime security and law in the Indo-Pacific. However, there are certain China-led initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative, in addition to Quad 2.0—in which speech acts from India’s and Japan’s foreign policy elite and relevant ministries show starkly differing results. This study contributes to the application of securitization theory in the Indo-Pacific, advances the concept of what constitutes a “common” securitization practice, and expands the scope of India–Japan studies with the addition of policy implications.