At a crucial moment when India-Pakistan tensions are high after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will host his Japanese counterpart, Gen. Nakatani, in New Delhi on Monday for extensive bilateral talks.
A wide range of strategic and security issues are anticipated to be discussed during the negotiations, with both parties sharing perspectives on the current state of regional and global security as well as looking at ways to strengthen their strong defense cooperationThe development of a proposed Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services Agreement, which, if approved, would permit the Indian and Japanese armed forces to use each other’s military bases for maintenance, resupply, and repair, is another important agenda item. Given the increasing strategic convergence between the two countries, this agreement is viewed as a major step toward improving operational cooperation and interoperability between the two military.
Expanding defense industrial cooperation, including cooperative development and co-production projects in the defense manufacturing sector, is another topic that the two parties are anticipated to discuss. An important example of growing technological cooperation is the recent agreement between Japan and India to jointly develop specialized stealth radio transmission equipment for naval warships.
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The security situation following the Pahalgam terror assault, which killed 26 lives and heightened diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan, will be a major topic of discussion. The Japanese leadership has already expressed solidarity with India, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba assuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi of Japan’s support against terrorismThe discussions will evaluate the dynamics of regional security, specifically China’s growing military posture in the East and South China Seas. As members of the Quad alongside the US and Australia, India and Japan have similar concerns about freedom of passage and stability in the Indo-Pacific. As a result, their defense interactions have become more robust.
Following their first meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Laos in November 2024, where they initiated talks on the reciprocal logistics agreement and other cooperative measures, this is Singh and Nakatani’s second encounter in as many months.
Since ties were elevated to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014, the India-Japan relationship has acquired “qualitative momentum,” with the Ministry of Defence emphasizing the importance of defense and security as key pillars. Their expanding defense cooperation is positioned to be crucial in determining the Indo-Pacific security framework as both nations negotiate difficult regional issues.
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