Japan and India are set to strengthen their collaboration in space and cyber security, as well as increase joint drills to enhance their security ties. The two-plus-two foreign and defense ministerial meeting, which will take place in India on Tuesday, will confirm the intention to revise the “Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation” signed in 2008. This revision will include the addition of space and cyber security into the updated declaration. The 2008 joint declaration focused on establishing comprehensive cooperative ties in security, including exchanging foreign and defense officials and ensuring maritime transport security.
The upcoming two-plus-two meeting will involve extensive discussions on revising the joint declaration, taking into account China’s expanding maritime activities. The revised declaration is expected to coincide with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan before the end of this year. The increased importance of security areas such as space and cyber since the 2008 agreement has prompted Japan and India to strengthen their bilateral cooperation. Talks on cyberspace began in 2012, followed by dialogues on space in 2019.
In addition to dialogue, joint drills have been conducted between Japan’s Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Forces along with the Indian military. This collaboration started with a joint exercise between the Air Self-Defense Force and Indian Air Force back in 2018. Both countries are also considering further cooperation to promote a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” which serves as a means of exerting pressure on China given India’s tense relations with them.
It is important to note that despite Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, India maintains friendly relations even with Russia due to its commitment to “strategic autonomy.” Including a reference to progress in bilateral security cooperation with India in the joint declaration aims at ensuring that cooperative ties do not regress according to a senior Foreign Ministry official. This indicates Japan’s intention not to backtrack on their collaborative progress made so far.