G-20 Summit 2023 | Japan keen to deepen military ties with India amid ‘harsh’ security environment

Japan sees India as an “indispensable” partner in the Indo-Pacific and is keen to develop deeper defence cooperation to ensure maritime security in the region, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said

Japan sees India as an “indispensable” partner in the Indo-Pacific and is keen to develop deeper defence cooperation to ensure maritime security in the region, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on September 10.

“Our Self-Defence Forces and the Indian Armed Forces have already conducted joint exercises this year between all services of land, sea and air. Our cooperative relationship is deepening steadily,” Mr. Kishida said to a question from The Hindu on India’s role in his new Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy.

“For example, as we did last year, our maritime Self-Defence Forces and the Indian Navy engaged in joint exercises this July and the Japan-Australia-India-U.S. Quad joint drill Malabar was also held on a continuous basis. So, going forward, to ensure the Indo-Pacific will not be a region that will be decided by force, and will be a region that values freedom and rule of law, we will continue active defence cooperation and exchanges with India.”

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Mr. Kishida stressed that Japan’s FOIP was “an inclusive and open concept and has no specific country in mind.”

At the same time, he described “an increasingly harsh security environment in the region” and said Japan was “opposed to unilateral changes to the status quo in East and South China Seas”, and also “firmly condemned North Korean’s missile activities.”

“The FOIP that Japan is promoting is a concept to uphold and reinforce a free and open international order based on rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region. And by doing so we aim to ensure peace and stability and prosperity in the entire region and ultimately across the world. That is the vision.”