India, Japan emphasise rules-based international order, peaceful settlement of disputes

They have decided to hold the next 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in Japan.

As per the joint statement, the ministers welcomed the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and Indian Naval Force exploring future cooperation in the area of ship maintenance in India and agreed to explore discussions for coordination and cooperation in the field of defence and security assistance to third countries for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

They jointly welcomed the possibilities to further enhance the bilateral security and defence cooperation between them following the release of the National Security Strategy of Japan in December 2022 and recognised such cooperation as an important pillar of the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

Both sides further highlighted their common strategic vision towards a free and open Indo-Pacific, that is inclusive, peaceful, prosperous and resilient, as part of the rules-based international order.

“The Ministers reiterated their strong support for ASEAN’s unity and centrality and their full support for the ‘ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)’ which upholds the principles such as openness, transparency, inclusivity, a rules-based framework and respect for international law.”

They discussed revising and updating the 2008 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India to reflect contemporary priorities and be responsive to contemporary security challenges facing them.

As per the statement, the ministers took note of the progress since September2022 to promote cooperation on cross-cutting security issues such as Defence Policy Dialogue, Vice-Minister/Foreign Secretary level Dialogue, Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), the Disarmament and Non- Proliferation Dialogue, the Cyber Dialogue, the Japan-India Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, and other regional consultations on emerging and hotspot issues.

“They also looked forward to having dialogues in areas such as space, maritime affairs, and Africa,” the statement said, adding that in light of the strategic depth of the bilateral relations, they concurred on promoting in-depth dialogues for further cooperation in the field of economic security and strategic trade.

They also agreed to continue working together on Security Council reform with a view to strengthening the UN.

Both sides also unequivocally condemned terrorism and violent extremism, including cross-border terrorism, and called for bringing the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai, Pathankot, and other attacks to justice.

“They called for concerted actions against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Al Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and their proxy groups, and to take resolute actions to root out terrorists’ safe havens, eliminate terrorist financing channels, and halt cross-border movement of terrorists,” the statement added.

Both the ministers appreciated the progress in the defence cooperation and exchanges among each component between the two sides since the last meeting in September 2022.

They took note of the first air visit by Japanese fighters and their participation at Tarang Shakti—which is the first multilateral exercise hosted by the Indian Air Force.

They welcomed the conduct of the inaugural edition of the bilateral fighter exercise ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ between the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) and Indian Air Force (IAF) and conduct of the bilateral exercises of all the three services in one calendar year for the first time in 2023.

They also agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in fields of space and cyber and reaffirmed the importance of multilateral defence cooperation and exchanges in the Indo-Pacific region, while expressing their commitment to continuing bilateral and multilateral exercises including “Dharma Guardian”, JIMEX and “Malabar”.

Both sides appreciated the successful completion of the cooperation in the areas of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV)/Robotics.

“They appreciated the progress made for the transfer of Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) and related technologies and early signing of related arrangements. The Ministers expressed their satisfaction with the seventh Japan-India Joint Working Group on Defence Equipment and Technology Cooperation,” the statement said, adding that they agreed on accelerating future cooperation in defence equipment and technology.

Both the ministers valued their cooperation in Quad and reaffirmed their commitment to advance it further based on the discussion at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo on July 29 this year.

Highlighting the importance of the leading role of women in preventing conflicts, delivering relief and recovery efforts and forging lasting peace, the ministers welcomed the advancement of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS), and Japanese and Indian women’s active participation in peacekeeping operations.

Both sides supported efforts to foster people-to-people exchanges and appreciated the significance of India’s decision to establish a new Consulate in Fukuoka, while welcoming the impending celebration of India Month in Japan and Japan Month in India in September.

Earlier, Jaishankar in his opening remarks at the meeting had said that in the last decade, the relationship between India and Japan has assumed the form of a Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

He said the cooperation between the two countries is today set against a larger context of a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific. “For India, this is a natural extrapolation from our Act East policy. Indeed, the proportion of our activities and interests in the East of India has been steadily growing,” he said.