On Monday, Japan and India started their first joint fighter jet exercise near Tokyo. The two countries are working to improve their defence and security ties as they watch China’s military power grow.
India will send four fighter jets, two transport planes, and an aerial refuelling tanker to the 11-day joint exercise, Japan’s defence ministry said. Japan will send eight fighter jets.
At the Hyakuri Air Base in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, about 150 people from the Indian Air Force are taking part in the exercise.
During talks between the Japanese and Indian defence and foreign ministers in 2019, the two countries agreed to do the drill. However, the pandemic pushed the date back.
The United States, Australia, Japan, and India are all part of the “Quad” alliance. This is a group of regional powers that is becoming more worried about China’s military and economic power.
In the past few months, Tokyo has held a number of joint military exercises, changed its defence and security strategy, and made its worries about China clear.
In December, the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said it would double defence spending to make up 2% of GDP by 2027. It also called China the “greatest strategic challenge ever” to Japan’s security.
Last week, Japan signed a new defence deal with Britain and agreed to include attacks in space in its mutual defence treaty with the U.S.
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