India and Japan said on Thursday that they would work more closely together on defence. New Delhi has asked Japanese companies to invest, and both countries are planning a military drill with their air force fighters.
Before “two-plus-two” talks between the defence and foreign ministers of two countries, Rajnath Singh, India’s defence minister, met with Yasukazu Hamada, Japan’s defence minister, in Tokyo.
In a statement, India’s defence ministry said of Singh, “He asked Japanese companies to invest in India’s defence corridors.”
“The two ministers agreed that the early start of the first fighter exercise will help the air forces of the two countries work together and communicate with each other much better.”
India, like Japan, is building up its military to deal with what it sees as more security threats, especially from China, which is right next door.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said that the country will spend “substantially” more on defence. His ruling Liberal Democratic Party wants to double Japan’s military budget over the next five years so that it makes up 2% of the country’s gross domestic product. This is because they are worried that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could make China more likely to attack neighbouring Taiwan.
Delhi is strengthening its security ties with Tokyo as both Asian countries worry about China’s growing military power in the region. Last week, Delhi put into service its first aircraft carrier that was made in India.
At the start of the two-plus-two meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that the ties between the two countries are becoming more and more important as the world faces different problems.
“If you look at the international community, you’ll see that one-sided attempts to use force to change the status quo are still going on in the East and South China Seas, not to mention Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Hayashi said.
China claims almost all of the energy-rich waters of the South China Sea, where it has set up military outposts on man-made islands. In the East China Sea, a group of uninhabited islands that are run by Japan are claimed by Beijing.
Japan, India, Australia, and the United States are all part of the Quad group of countries. Each year, they hold naval exercises in the Indo-Pacific to show that they can work together.
After U.S. President Joe Biden angered China the day before by saying he would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan, Taiwan was the main topic of discussion at the last leaders’ meeting in May in Japan. As they were meeting, Russian and Chinese warplanes were patrolling the area together.
In a separate meeting, Kishida and Narendra Modi, who is the Prime Minister of India, agreed to work together to promote a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
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