India and Japan bolster defence ties, explore air domain cooperation

Vientiane (Laos), Nov 22: India and Japan on Friday agreed to explore new areas of cooperation in the air domain as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wrapped up his productive three day visit to Laos by holding two significant meetings with his Japanese and the Philippines counterparts on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) forum.

In the first meeting, Singh and Japanese Minister of Defence General Nakatani hailed the increasing cooperation and collaboration between the two countries while recalling the "milestone event" of signing of the Memorandum of Implementation for transfer of the Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) in Tokyo on November 15.

The UNICORN is a mast with Integrated Communication systems which will help improve the stealth characteristics of Naval Platforms. The Indian Navy is pursuing the induction of these advanced systems which will be co-developed by Bharat Electronics Limited in India with Japanese collaboration. When implemented, this would be the first case of co-development/co-production of Defence Equipment between India and Japan.

In their meeting on Friday, both defence ministers reiterated the importance of defence industry and technology cooperation between the two countries while agreeing on enhanced cooperation in co-production and co-development in the defence manufacturing sector.

"The two ministers affirmed the importance of multilateral defence cooperation and exchanges in the security environment which is growing its severeness, and concurred on working together widely with countries which share fundamental values such as democracy and the rule of law," read a statement issued by the Japanese Defence Ministry after the meeting.

"The two ministers concurred on developing defence cooperation and exchanges to continue deepening further bilateral relationship, and sending messages that unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion cannot be tolerated," it added. According to the Indian Defence Ministry, both ministers also discussed the Reciprocal Provision of Supply and Services Agreement between the two countries and participation of militaries in various bilateral and multilateral exercises to further improve interoperability between the Indian and Japanese forces.

As they reaffirmed that India-Japan partnership is pivotal in fostering a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region, both ministers also agreed to explore new areas of cooperation in the air domain. In another crucial meeting, Defence Minister Singh held discussions with the Philippines' Secretary of National Defence (Defence Minister) Gilberto Teodoro where both sides vowed to further bolster the defence cooperation between the two countries.

Singh welcomed the Philippines as country coordinator for India in ASEAN and ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus forum for the next cycle as both sides agreed to expand and deepen cooperation in exchange of subject matter experts, defence industry, counter terrorism, space and maritime domain. "Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. met with Indian Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh to discuss deeper defence cooperation. Shared maritime challenges and India's expertise in defence tech and international law took centerstage," stated the Philippines' Department of National Defence.

During his visit to Vientiane for the 11th ADMM-Plus meeting, Defence Minister Singh also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Malaysia, Laos, China, United States, New Zealand, South Korea and Australia. Prior to his departure to New Delhi, he visited the Buddhist Wat Sisaket temple in Vientiane and sought blessings from Mahaveth Chittakaro, the Abbot of Sisaket temple.