Background
India and Japan share a “Special Strategic and Global Partnership” and are important partners in the Indo-Pacific.
Both countries support a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) and seek to maintain the security of vital maritime routes.
Japan has advanced naval technology, while India has growing shipbuilding, defence-production and maintenance capabilities.
Defence cooperation has expanded through exercises such as:
Dharma Guardian – Army exercise
JAIMEX – Japan-India Maritime Exercise
Veer Guardian – Air Force exercise
The two countries also conduct the 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue.
Features
Maritime Domain Awareness
Greater sharing of maritime information and intelligence.
Better monitoring of activities in the Indian Ocean and wider Indo-Pacific.
Naval Cooperation
Reciprocal naval visits.
Joint and increasingly complex naval exercises.
Personnel and subject-matter expert exchanges.
Logistics Cooperation
Greater access to ports.
Reciprocal use of maintenance and ship-repair facilities.
Protection of Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs)
Cooperation to protect vital maritime trade routes.
Important for energy security and uninterrupted global commerce.
Humanitarian Cooperation
Joint work on Search and Rescue (SAR).
Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
Defence Technology
DRDO and Japan's ATLA will deepen cooperation in advanced defence technologies.
The UNICORN shipborne integrated communications antenna system has been identified as a key defence-equipment collaboration.
Shipbuilding
Possibility of joint development in naval shipbuilding and design.
Greater use of India's shipbuilding capabilities under Make in India.
Emerging Technologies
Greater integration of unmanned systems in military exercises.
Cooperation in mine countermeasures.
Exchanges between Special Operations Forces.
Institutional Mechanism
A Working Group headed at the Director-General/Joint Secretary level will coordinate cooperation in operational, intelligence, equipment, technology and industrial domains.
Challenges
Different strategic priorities: Japan's primary security concerns are concentrated in East Asia, particularly around the East China Sea and the wider Western Pacific, while India has major interests in the Indian Ocean.
China factor: Increasing Chinese naval presence and strategic competition may complicate the regional security environment.
Defence-industrial differences: Japan possesses advanced technology, while India's defence industry is still expanding its technological and manufacturing capabilities.
Operational interoperability: Different platforms, communication systems and military doctrines can make deeper integration difficult.
Logistical limitations: Reciprocal access to ports and repair facilities requires substantial infrastructure and administrative coordination.
Balancing strategic autonomy: India must deepen cooperation without compromising its traditional policy of strategic autonomy.
Way Forward
Develop real-time maritime information-sharing mechanisms and strengthen MDA.
Increase the frequency and complexity of bilateral and multilateral naval exercises.
Integrate AI, drones, autonomous systems and advanced communication technologies into maritime cooperation.
Accelerate joint development and production under Make in India.
Expand reciprocal ship-repair and maintenance facilities.
Strengthen cooperation through platforms such as the Quad, while maintaining ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific.
Deepen cooperation in HADR, search and rescue and maritime capacity building for regional partners.
Expedite the next India-Japan 2+2 Dialogue and institutionalise defence-industry cooperation.
Conclusion
India-Japan maritime security arrangement is reflective of an evolution from conventional security cooperation to more operational, technological, and industrial integration. Through leveraging the technological capabilities of Japan and the rising defence production capacity and shipbuilding industry of India, the relationship can help in building a Free, Open, Inclusive and Rules-Based Indo-Pacific. This also makes India stronger in terms of maritime security, SLOC protection and as a net security provider in the IOR.
