India-Japan ties attaining new highs

The ties between India and Japan have been attaining new highs since former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talked of the "confluence of two seas" and introduced the concept of the Indo-Pacific region in 2007

Come November 8 and India will be joining the 2022 edition of the Malabar naval exercise Japan is hosting this time. Australia and the United States will also participate in this. The month will also witness the Indian Navy participating in the International Fleet Review (IFR) being hosted to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF).

Observers say India's participation in the exercise and the review both would be very logical. Last month, India and Japan held the sixth edition of the bilateral naval exercise Jimex-2022 off Visakhapatnam. The Indian Navy participated also in the multinational exercise Kakadu hosted by Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at Darwin.

As for the IFR, it is to be conducted during the 18th Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) 'strategic discussion.' Its 'plenary session' is to be hosted by Japan from November 5 to 10. There should be no problem in India joining the review.

A WPNS workshop 2022 was hosted by Japan also in June this year. This saw the participation of the 20 nations, including India, Australia, Japan and US, Bangladesh, Colombia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.

The observers add that relations between India and Japan have been attaining new highs since former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talked of the "confluence of two seas" and introduced the concept of the Indo-Pacific region in his address to the our Parliament in 2007.

Japan's Self Defence Force and the Indian military conducted their first joint naval exercise in 2012. Since then, they have participated in many joint drills. Japan and India signed an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement in 2020. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his present Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida seem to share the need to devise a common strategy to contain China's present assertive designs in the Himalayas, the East China Sea as well as the South China Sea.

During the dialogue, our External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had with their Japanese counterparts Hayashi Yoshimasa and Hamada Yasukazu in their 2+2 Dialogue held in Tokyo last month, India and Japan agreed to bolster cooperation on maritime security, including by expanding joint drills and setting up a high-level defense dialogue. They agreed to hold the first Air Force fighter exercise. The two nations also agreed to launch a comprehensive dialogue between Japan's Joint Staff and the India's Integrated Defense Staff.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.