Rajnath to hold bilateral meet with Japanese counterpart

In the backdrop of India and Japan discussing a reciprocal agreement for logistics for their Navies, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hold a bilateral meeting with Japanese counterpart General Nakatani in New Delhi on Monday.

The Ministry of Defence on Sunday said both sides will exchange views and ideas on the current regional and international security situation and discuss ways to deepen the bilateral defence cooperation further.

This will be the second meeting between the two defence ministers within six months of their maiden interaction in November 2024, on the side lines of ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus at Laos.

After the November-2024 meeting, the Ministry of Defence had said that both sides were trying to improve inter-operability between the Indian and Japanese forces, and had discussed a ‘reciprocal provision of supply and services agreement’.

If agreed upon, it would allow Indian warships and planes to gets supplies, spares and immediate help at Japanese bases. The same facility would be available for Japanese forces at Indian bases.

Notably, the two nations, along with the US and Australia, are partners in the QUAD; and are already exploring new areas of cooperation in the air domain. Both sides have also agreed for enhanced cooperation in co-production and co-development in the defence manufacturing sector.

In November last year, India and Japan inked an agreement for co-development of a specialised stealth radio communication equipment to be used by Naval warships.

India and Japan share a long-term friendship, which has further gained qualitative momentum after the elevation of this collaboration to special strategic and global partnership in 2014.

Defence exchanges between India and Japan have gained strength in recent years due to the growing convergence on strategic matters. Its significance is increasing from the common outlook on issues of peace, security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.