India, Japan sign maritime security pact to deepen defence cooperation

As both sides stressed the need to preserve freedom of navigation and oppose attempts to alter the regional status quo through force or coercion, NEW DELHI: India and Japan on Thursday signed a maritime security agreement to deepen coordination between their armed.

Key points

• India and Japan are members of the Quad, alongside the United States and Australia.
• Singh and Koizumi expressed opposition to unilateral actions that could undermine maritime security.
• To further deepen defence cooperation to realise a free and open Indo Pacific, the joint statement remarked.
• Singh welcomed Japan's recent review of its framework for defence equipment and technology transfers and pressed deeper defence and technology cooperation.
• While working towards reciprocal arrangements for ship repairs, the joint statement remarked the two sides would explore greater apply of ports and maintenance and repair facilities.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi signed the Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA) on Maritime Security Cooperation during the Japan India Defence Ministers' session in New Delhi.

As well as other maritime security operations, the agreement provides a framework for closer cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, including information sharing on Maritime Domain Awareness, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

In practice, the two ministers additionally agreed to strengthen coordination to protect vital Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) through reciprocal naval visits, joint exercises, personnel and subject matter expert exchanges, and logistical backing.

Notably, the agreement comes against the backdrop of growing strategic competition in the Indo Pacific, particularly reservations in both New Delhi and Tokyo over China's expanding military presence and increasingly assertive posture in regional waters. Singh and Koizumi expressed opposition to unilateral actions that could undermine maritime security.

"The two ministers affirmed their commitment. To further deepen defence cooperation to realise a free and open Indo Pacific, " the joint statement remarked.

They additionally expressed "strong opposition to any unilateral actions that impede freedom and safety of navigation and overflight, " as well as attempts to change the status quo "by force or coercion."

While China was not named, the remarks come against the backdrop of heightened worries over Beijing's military activities in the South and East China Seas and its expanding strategic footprint throughout the Indian Ocean region.

India and Japan are members of the Quad, alongside the United States and Australia. It has emerged as an significant platform for cooperation on a free, open and rules based Indo Pacific.

Meanwhile, the two ministers additionally discussed expanding industrial and technological cooperation in defence. They agreed to explore joint development in naval shipbuilding and design, combining Japan's technological expertise with India's production capabilities under the Create in India initiative.

Meanwhile, the discussions additionally covered mine countermeasure capabilities and greater cooperation between the two countries' special operations forces. The ministers agreed to pursue cooperation with India's integrated theatre commands after their establishment.

Meanwhile, the two sides additionally reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the shipborne UNICORN integrated communications antenna system, described in the joint statement as the first defence equipment transfer project between India and Japan and a symbol of their growing defence partnership.

Taken together, the developments around india, Japan sign maritime security pact to deepen defence cooperation point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.