India, Japan to bolster bilateral defense ties

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) – India and Japan agreed Tuesday to bolster defense ties, with the two nations committing to support each other's endeavors to promote stability and security in the region.

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar hosted their Japanese counterparts Minoru Kihara and Yoko Kamikawa in New Delhi for the third India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting.

The first such meeting was held in 2019.

A joint statement said the ministers had a “frank and wide-ranging discussion” on regional and global issues focusing on the Indo-Pacific region.

The two sides “welcomed the possibilities to further enhance bilateral security and defense cooperation,” it said, adding they “concurred on accelerating future cooperation in defense equipment and technology.”

The ministers also “appreciated the progress made for the transfer of Unified Complex Radio Antenna and related technologies and early signing of related arrangements,” the statement noted.

After the meeting, Singh said “there is a growing convergence and common outlook on issues of peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific Region.”

“We expressed our commitment to support each other's endeavors to arrive at meaningful outcomes to promote stability and security in the region,” he said.

The meeting also noted the progress made to “promote cooperation on cross-cutting security issues through the architecture of multilayered dialogues between the two countries.”

New Delhi and Tokyo look forward to having dialogues in areas such as space, maritime affairs and Africa, the statement added.

The ministers also agreed that India and Japan will “continue to work together on (UN) Security Council reform with a view to strengthening the UN.”

India and Japan are part of a US-led quadrilateral security grouping which also includes Australia. The bloc is seen as a counter to China's influence in the region.