Background
India–Japan defence cooperation has expanded significantly over the last decade.
Major institutional mechanisms include:
Annual Defence Ministerial Dialogue
2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue
Bilateral military exercises
Logistics cooperation
Defence technology and equipment discussions
The two countries share concerns regarding:
Indo-Pacific maritime security
Freedom of navigation
Unilateral attempts to change the status quo
Coercion and militarisation
The 2015 agreement on defence equipment and technology transfer created a framework for cooperation, but actual projects progressed slowly.
In 2024, India’s Bharat Electronics Limited and Japan signed an MoU concerning the co-development of UNICORN masts.
The current phase seeks to shift the relationship from strategic convergence to operational capability.
Features
Greater Maritime Domain Awareness
Information-sharing mechanisms can connect India’s Indian Ocean perspective with Japan’s East China Sea and Western Pacific perspective.
This can create a more continuous maritime picture across the Indo-Pacific.
Defence-industrial cooperation
Joint naval shipbuilding and design are being explored.
Japan’s technology can complement India’s manufacturing and production capabilities.
Reciprocal ship-repair facilities can strengthen logistical resilience.
UNICORN technology
Transfer of Japan’s UNICORN communications antenna system represents a significant defence-technology milestone.
It is also a test of whether India and Japan can finally convert earlier agreements into actual projects.
More advanced military exercises
Veer Guardian 2026 marks the first participation of Japanese fighter aircraft in India.
Future exercises are expected to involve unmanned systems, special forces and short-notice operational scenarios.
Broader Indo-Pacific partnership
Cooperation is expanding beyond a narrow China-focused security agenda.
It now includes maritime security, resilient supply chains, defence manufacturing, logistics and critical technologies.
Challenges
Implementation gap: India and Japan have often announced ambitious initiatives without translating them quickly into operational projects.
Defence-industrial differences: Differences in procurement procedures, regulations and technology-transfer expectations can slow cooperation.
Technology transfer: Japan may remain cautious about transferring sensitive defence technologies.
Interoperability: Different military systems, platforms and operational doctrines require sustained exercises and coordination.
Geographical priorities: Japan’s primary security concerns are in the Western Pacific, while India has major interests in the Indian Ocean.
China factor: Although cooperation need not be explicitly China-centric, growing strategic competition with China inevitably shapes the partnership.
Resource constraints: Developing advanced maritime awareness, shipbuilding and joint capabilities requires sustained financial and institutional commitment.
Way Forward
Focus on implementation: Move quickly from MoUs and declarations to completed defence projects.
Expand defence manufacturing: Combine Japanese technology with India’s production capacity under Make in India.
Strengthen MDA: Develop secure, real-time information-sharing networks covering the wider Indo-Pacific.
Increase interoperability: Conduct more complex, realistic and multidomain exercises involving air, naval, unmanned and special forces.
Develop logistics networks: Expand reciprocal access to maintenance and ship-repair facilities.
Promote co-development: Encourage DRDO–Japan ATLA collaboration in emerging technologies.
Diversify the partnership: Work with other Indo-Pacific partners on maritime security, disaster response, supply-chain resilience and capacity building.
Maintain strategic autonomy: India should deepen cooperation with Japan while retaining flexibility in its broader foreign and defence policy.
Conclusion
India–Japan defence cooperation is moving from institutional convergence to operational capability. The emphasis on maritime awareness, defence manufacturing, technology transfer, logistics and increasingly sophisticated exercises marks an important evolution. The partnership should not be viewed merely through a China-centric lens. Its larger objective is to build a free, open, secure and resilient Indo-Pacific. The decisive test now is implementation: India and Japan must convert strategic intent into interoperable capabilities, functioning defence projects and sustained operational cooperation.
