India, Japan must expand scope of bilateral cooperation: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

India shares Japan’s vision for a free, open, secure and rules-based Indo-Pacific, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday.

During a meeting with Vice Minister of Defense for International Affairs Oka Masani who called on him in New Delhi, Defence Minister Singh also stressed that both the countries must continue to expand the scope of their bilateral cooperation.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the visiting Japanese Vice Minister reiterated Japan’s keenness to further enhance bilateral defence cooperation, including collaboration in defence equipment and technology.

Earlier, Vice Minister Oka Masani co-chaired the 7th Defence Policy Dialogue with India's Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane in New Delhi on Wednesday.

During the meeting, India and Japan agreed to diversify their cooperation in new and emerging domains such as defence space and cyber. The dialogur also saw discussions on regional security concerns, service-level exercises and engagements, and cooperation in defence equipment and technology.

During the dialogue, the Japanese Vice Minister also provided policy updates from their newly issued national security and defence strategies. Both sides recognized the expanding collaboration between the two defence forces via staff meetings and training exercises, India’s Ministry of Defence said after the meeting.

They welcomed the conduct of the inaugural fighter exercise ‘Veer Guardian’ between the Indian Air Force and Japanese Air Self Defence Force in January this year in Japan.

At the second 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial meeting held in Tokyo, Japan on September 8, 2022, India and Japan had agreed to step up bilateral defence cooperation and engage in more military exercises, including holding the first joint fighter jet drills, reflecting the growing security cooperation between the two sides.

During the 7th India-Japan Defence Policy Dialogue, Defence Secretary Aramane emphasized that both nations should work to strengthen their defence industry partnerships. As part of the "Made in India" campaign, he also asked Japanese defence businesses to explore the investment potential in India. Both sides decided to broaden their areas of cooperation in cutting-edge fields including cyber and space defence.

Furthermore, India and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to a solid defence alliance and decided to look for ways to expand their mutually beneficial collaboration. It was also decided that the next Defence Policy Dialogue will take place at mutually agreeable times.

The Defence Policy Dialogue is an institutionalized mechanism between India and Japan to discuss bilateral defence cooperation.