India and Japan have agreed to deepen defense cooperation and both countries are planning a joint military drill involving their air force fighters.
Defense ministries of India and Japan, during one on one meeting on Thursday, said that the two countries plan to strengthen their defense cooperation with the Japanese industries gearing up to invest in India upon New Delhi’s invitation, in addition to a joint military drill among the two countries involving their air force fighters.
India’s defense minister Rajnath Singh held discussions with his Japanese counterpart, Yasukazu Hamada, in Tokyo prior to their “two-plus-two” talks scheduled for later in the day which would include defense as well as foreign ministers from both countries.
“He invited Japanese industries to invest in India’s defense corridors,” said the statement issued by the Indian defense ministry, referring to Singh.
“The two ministers agreed that the early conduct of the inaugural fighter exercise will pave the way for much greater cooperation and interoperability between the air forces of the two countries.”
New Delhi is expanding its security relations with Tokyo as both Asian countries grow cautious of China’s growing military strength in the region.
Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida has vowed a “substantial” defense spending increase. His ruling Liberal Democratic Party wants to double Japan’s military budget to 2% of gross domestic product over the next five years amid worry Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could embolden China to act against neighboring Taiwan.
Meanwhile, India, last week, commissioned its first home-built aircraft carrier in a move to bolster its military, like Japan, to address what it sees as bigger security threats, including from neighboring China.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a separate bilateral meeting with PM Kishida, agreed to work closely together to uphold a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
India and Japan, along with Australia and the US, are members of the Quad group of nations and conduct annual maritime exercises across the Indo-Pacific to exhibit their interoperability.