The Defence Minister of Japan Mr. Itsunori Onodera visited India for the first time for 2 days at the invitation of the Defence Minister of India Smt Nirmala Sitharaman from 19 to 20 August 2018.
The Defence Minister of Japan Mr. Itsunori Onodera visited India for the first time for 2 days at the invitation of the Defence Minister of India Smt Nirmala Sitharaman from 19 to 20 August 2018.
Objective:
- To further strengthen defence and security cooperation under the ‘Japan-lndia Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ ,
- To work on Japan’s ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy’ with India’s ‘Act East Policy’
Key Points:
Following are the exchanges and cooperation held:
Defence Minister of Japan called on the Prime Minister at the Annual Defence Ministerial Meeting
On 20 August 2018, in the Annual Defence Ministerial Meeting held in Delhi, Minister Onodera called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed on the following matters:
- Significance of defence and security cooperation,
- Working on the ‘Japan-lndia Special Strategic and Global Partnership’,
- Working on peace and stability of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean,
- Developments in the Korean Peninsula,
- Expanding cooperation in the maritime security domain and
- Cooperation between Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) and the Indian Navy.
Other Announcements in the India-Japan Annual Defence Ministerial Dialogue :
India and Japan agreed on promoting cooperation and exchanges through Mutual Visits, upcoming institutional Dialogues and exchanges:
On August 20, 2018, in the India-Japan Annual Defence Ministerial Dialouge, the following were finalized:
Mutual Visits:
- Visit of the Defence Ministerof India to Japan in 2019.
- Visit of the Chief of Staff, JMSDF to India in November 2018 and the Indian Chief of Air Staff to Japan by the end of 2018.
Upcoming Institutional Dialouges:
- Both sides will seek to realise the 7th Defence Vice Minister/Secretary level Defence Policy Dialogue in 2019 and
- Conduct of the 6th Vice Minister/Secretary level ‘2 +2’ dialogue in Tokyo in 2019.
Exchanges between the two countries:
Exchanges between the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF) and the Indian Army.
- Both the countries will work on the first-ever bilateral joint exercise between the JGSDF and the Indian Army in the domain of counter-terrorism.
- It is scheduled to be held in the fall of 2018.
Exchanges between the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force and the Indian Navy.
Both the countries would pursue continuation and sophistication of bilateral joint exercises, including those in areas of anti-submarine warfare and mine-countermeasures between Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force and the Indian Navy.
Exchanges between the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and the Indian Air Force
- After Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) helicopter crews’ visit to India’s Sarsawa Air Force Station in December 2017, JASDF would act as observers in the next round of Exercise Cope India.
- Further after the success of the 2nd Air Staff Talks in June 2018, air-to-air cooperation through visits of Japanese and Indian air force would take place.
Cooperation and exchange between Education and Research Exchanges
In the meeting, the regular exchange of students between National Defence College of India, and the National Institute of Defence Studies of Japan were re-affirmed.
Cooperation in Defence Equipment and Technology
- The first bilateral cooperative project, between the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Defence of Japan on Cooperative Research in the Area of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) /Robotics was made.
- This was made possible because of the cooperation between Acquisition, Technology and Logistical Agency (ATLA) of Japan and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India.
- Proposal of setting up of two Defence Industry Corridors in India was given by Minister Sitharaman and participation of Japanese enterprises were invited.
- Cooperation for final acquisition of US-2 ShinMaywa  amphibious aircraft by India for the Indian Navy from Japan.
- Visit of Japanese defence enterprises to Indian defence industries in August 2018 has been organized.
- This would be the follow up on the first-ever Japan-India Defence Industry Forum in September 2017.
- This would promote the interaction between public and private sectors, as well as between Japanese and Indian defence industries.
Achievements/meetings of India-Japan cooperation till now:
- Bilateral discussion of the 4th Joint Working Group on Defence Equipment and Technology Cooperation (JWG-DETC) in Delhi in July 2018.
- Trilateral Maritime Exercise MALABAR 2018 was conducted successfully among Japan-India-U.S. in June 2018.
Japan:
♦ Capital: Tokyo.
♦ Currency: Japanese Yen.
♦ Prime Minister: Shinzo Abe.