|HT|
India and Japan on Thursday unveiled plans for their first air force exercise as New Delhi backed Tokyo’s efforts to reinforce its defence capabilities over the next five years, reflecting the growing security cooperation between the two sides.
Against the backdrop of China’s aggressive actions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and in the East China Sea, India and Japan emphasised the need for all countries to peacefully resolve disputes without using force or any unilateral change of the status quo during their second 2+2 meeting of defence and foreign ministers in Tokyo.
Defence and security cooperation between the two sides has grown rapidly in recent years, and they operationalised an agreement between their armed forces on reciprocal provision of supplies and services in March this year. The Indian side also sought investments from Japanese companies for manufacturing military hardware.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh held talks with his Japanese counterpart Yasukazu Hamada ahead of the 2+2 meeting, for which they were joined by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi.
The air services of the two countries are “working closely for the early conduct of [the] inaugural India-Japan fighter exercise”, said a joint statement issued after the 2+2 meeting.
The Japanese side “expressed its determination to fundamentally reinforce Japan’s defence capabilities within the next five years”, including a substantial increase of the defence budget, as part of the country’s “resolve to examine all options necessary for national defence, including so called ‘counterstrike capabilities’, the joint statement said.
“Acknowledging Japan’s determination to reinforce its defence capabilities, Indian side expressed its support to work towards enhanced security and defence cooperation,” it said.
The two sides emphasised the need for global cooperation to address security challenges that have become “more acute” and “reaffirmed their commitment to a rules-based global order that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, and emphasised the need for all countries to seek peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law without resorting to threat or use of force or any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo”, the joint statement said.
While India is engaged in a dragging military face-off with China on the LAC, where it has accused Chinese troops of attempting to unilaterally alter the status quo, Japan has concerns about Chinese activities in the East China Sea, where Beijing claims the Senkaku Islands. The Japanese side has expressed concern at China’s military actions in the Taiwan Strait, including the firing of missiles that landed in the Japanese exclusive economic zone.
Speaking after the 2+2 meeting, Singh told a joint media interaction: “There is consensus on both sides that a strong India-Japan relationship is very important for a free, open, rules-based and inclusive Indo-Pacific based upon sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.”
Jaishankar pointed to conflicts and climate events aggravating the global economic situation and the need to create resilient and reliable supply chains, and said: “In the face of such challenges, the case for India and Japan to collaborate more closely on foreign policy and security questions has become even stronger.”
The two sides discussed collaboration on cyber security, 5G deployment and critical and strategic minerals, Jaishankar said.
India and Japan are working to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific through mechanisms such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad and the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative, Jaishankar added.
Singh pointed to progress in military-to-military cooperation and exchanges and said both countries now want to increase the scope and complexity of military exercises. The two sides also agreed on staff talks between the Joint Staff of the Japanese Self Defense Forces and India’s Integrated Defence Staff, he said.
“In our meeting today, I had the opportunity to propose engagements in emerging and critical technological domains. I have also invited the Japanese defence companies to look at opportunities in investing in the Indian Defence Corridors,” Singh said.
Hayashi said both sides denounced the use of force in settling disputes. “We concurred that unilateral change to the status quo with force should not be tolerated in any region,” he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged a “substantial” increase in defence spending and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party wants to double the military spending to 2% of GDP over five years amidst concerns that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could embolden China to act against Taiwan.
The 2+2 meeting discussed regional and global issues of mutual concerns, “particularly those in the Indo-Pacific as well as Ukraine”, the joint statement said. The two sides also decided to deepen cooperation on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and the response to infectious diseases and pandemics.
(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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