India, Japan to scale up defence cooperation
The talks, part of the India-Japan annual defence ministerial dialogue in Tokyo, also highlighted the cooperation on the US-2 amphibious aircraft.
New Delhi: In a bid to add more thrust to the upswing in India-Japan bilateral ties, the two nations have agreed to step up defence cooperation especially in production of military equipment and dual-use technologies and to scale up overall military engagement under the bilateral special strategic framework.
A joint statement issued on Wednesday in the backdrop of wide-ranging discussions between defence minister Arun Jaitley and his Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera on Tuesday said: “The Ministers endorsed the importance of enhancing interaction between governments and defence industries of the two countries to encourage equipment collaboration including defence and dual-use technologies.”
The talks, part of the India-Japan annual defence ministerial dialogue in Tokyo, also highlighted the cooperation on the US-2 amphibious aircraft.
The latest developments in Indo-Japan ties comes amid escalating tension in the wake of the nuclear test by North Korea and China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.
The two sides also agreed to commence technical discussions for research collaboration in the areas of Unmanned Ground Vehicles and Robotics. India plans to buy the US-2 ShinMaywa aircraft from Japan for its navy. Last year, China had reacted angrily to reports that Japan plans to sell weapons to India at cheaper prices, saying that such a move is disgraceful.
The two sides also agreed to ramp up counter-terror cooperation, besides deepening engagement among navies, air forces and ground forces of the two countries.
In the meeting, Jaitley briefed about India’s policy reforms in the defence manufacturing sectors, saying the country offers huge opportunities for foreign industries to play an active role.
Seeking to further intensify naval cooperation, Onodera expressed his intention to have state-of-the-art Japanese assets, including P-1 maritime patrol aircraft to participate in next year’s trilateral Malabar naval exercise which also involves the US Navy.
“The two sides will consider inclusion of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) training to expand cooperation. In addition the ministers agreed to pursue exchanges and training by ASW aviation units such as P-3C,” the statement said. P-3C is an anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft.
The Japanese side proposed to invite Indian Navy personnel to mine-countermeasures training held by it.
Jaitley attended the dialogue with Japan as defence minister though Nirmala Sitharaman was given the defence portfolio in the cabinet reshuffle on Sunday. Jaitley had said there were logistical constraints for her to attend the dialogue.
At the talks, the two sides also welcomed the constructive engagement between Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistic Agency (ATLA) and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).