NEW DELHI: Defence Ministers of India and Japan held delegation-level talks on Thursday and decided to hold the maiden “fighter exercise” of the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force and the Indian Air Force.
Rajnath Singh is in Japan on a two-day official visit, and will also participate in India Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
As per the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Minister Rajnath Singh held bilateral talks with Minister of Defense of Japan Mr Yasukazu Hamada in Tokyo and “agreed that the early conduct of the inaugural fighter exercise will pave way for much greater cooperation and interoperability between the Air Forces of the two countries.”
During the delegation-level talks, the two Ministers reviewed various aspects of bilateral defence cooperation as well as regional affairs. “They acknowledged the importance of India-Japan defence partnership and the critical role it will play in ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region,” MoD said.
Rajnath Singh also highlighted that the growing complexities in the India-Japan bilateral defence exercises are a testimony to the deepening of defence cooperation between the two countries. He emphasised on the need to expand the scope of partnership in the field of Defence Equipment and Technological Cooperation.
He invited Japanese industries to invest in India’s defence corridors where a conducive environment for the growth of the defence industry has been created by the Government of India.
The Ministers expressed their commitment to continuing bilateral and multilateral exercises including ‘Dharma Guardian’, ‘JIMEX’ and ‘Malabar’. The two countries operationalised the Reciprocal Provision of Supply and Services (logistics) Agreement during Exercise ‘MILAN’ in March this year.
Japan is one of the select countries with which India has a logistics agreement or the reciprocal provision of supplies and services agreement. The logistics agreement adds endurance to the warships and aircraft of the two countries and will open the airbases and ports for the assistance of fuel, rest and ration and also basic maintenance.
India has similar logistics agreements with the US, Singapore, France, South Korea, and Australia and one with Russia is pending.
After reaching Tokyo on the night of September 07, 2022, Shri Rajnath Singh began his day’s engagements by laying a wreath at a Memorial, dedicated to the personnel of Japan Self Defense Forces who laid down their lives in the line of duty, at the Ministry of Defense, Japan.
He was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour before the bilateral meeting with the Japanese Defense Minister.
Later in the day, the Raksha Mantri, along with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, will participate in the 2nd India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. The Japanese side will be represented by Minister of Defense Mr Yasukazu Hamada and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Yoshimasa Hayashi.
The 2+2 Dialogue will review bilateral cooperation across domains and chart out the way forward. This year marks 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Japan.