Recently, the third India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting was held in New Delhi, India with focus on Indo-Pacific.

Key Insights on the Third India-Japan 2+2 Meeting

The dialogue provided a platform for the Ministers to review existing bilateral cooperation and explore new initiatives to strengthen engagements between the two nations. Following are the various key discussions that were held:

• Rules-based International Order: The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining and strengthening rules-based international order founded on the principles of the UN Charter. It means:
  • • Respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity
    • Peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to the threat or use of force 
  • They also emphasised the need for all countries to refrain from any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo.
• Quad, ASEAN and Indo-Pacific: They valued their cooperation in Quad and reaffirmed their commitment to advance it further based on the discussion at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo in July 2024.
  • The Ministers reiterated their strong support for ASEAN’s unity and centrality and their full support for the “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)”.
    • AOIP upholds the principles such as openness, transparency, inclusivity, a rules-based framework and respect for international law.
  • The Ministers had a wide-ranging discussion on regional and global issues focusing on the shared Indo-Pacific region. 

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• Security and Strategic Ties: They welcomed the possibilities to further enhance the bilateral security and defence cooperation following the National Security Strategy of Japan issued in December 2022.
  • They recognised such cooperation as an important pillar of the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership.
  • They shared the intention to revise and update the 2008 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India to reflect contemporary priorities and be responsive to contemporary security challenges facing them.
  • They looked forward to having dialogues in space, maritime affairs, and Africa and further concurred on deepening bilateral cooperation in the field of space and cyber. 
  • They are also promoting in-depth dialogues for further cooperation in the field of economic security and strategic trade. 
  • They also concurred on continuing to work together on Security Council reform with a view to strengthening the UN.
  • Both already made progress to promote cooperation on security issues through various dialogues such as the Defence Policy Dialogue, Vice-Minister/Foreign Secretary level Dialogue, Foreign Office Consultations, the Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Dialogue, the Cyber Dialogue, and other regional consultations. 
• Women Participation: The Ministers welcomed the advancement of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS), and Japanese and Indian women’s active participation in peacekeeping operations.
  • They also highlighted the importance of the leading role of women in preventing conflicts, delivering relief and recovery efforts and forging lasting peace.
• People-to-People Exchanges: The Ministers supported efforts to foster people-to-people exchanges that complement the strategic partnership. 
  • They appreciated the significance of India’s decision to establish a new Consulate in Fukuoka. 
  • They also welcomed the impending celebration of India Month in Japan and Japan Month in India in September.
• Root out Terror and Terror Safe Havens: The Ministers unequivocally condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism, and called for bringing the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai, Pathankot, and other attacks to justice. 
  • They called for concerted actions against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Al Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and their proxy groups.
  • To take resolute actions to root out terrorists safe havens, eliminate terrorist financing channels, and halt cross-border movement of terrorists.
• Defence Cooperation and Exchanges: The Ministers appreciated that the first Joint Service Staff Talks were held and the progress in the defence cooperation and exchanges among each component between the two sides since the last meeting in September 2022. 
  • They welcomed the:
    • First air visit by Japanese fighters and their participation at Tarang Shakti, the first multilateral exercise hosted by the Indian Air Force. 
    • Conduct of the inaugural edition of the bilateral fighter exercise ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ between the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) and Indian Air Force (IAF).
    • Conduct of the bilateral exercises of all the three services in one calendar year for the first time in 2023. 
  • The Ministers expressed their commitment to continuing bilateral and multilateral exercises including “Dharma Guardian”, JIMEX and “Malabar.”
  • The Ministers welcomed the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and Indian Naval Force exploring future cooperation in the area of ship maintenance in India. 
• On Technology: The Ministers further appreciated the successful completion of the cooperation in the areas of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV)/Robotics. 
  • They appreciated the progress made for the transfer of Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) and related technologies and early signing of related arrangements. 
  • The Ministers expressed their satisfaction with the seventh Japan-India Joint Working Group on Defence Equipment and Technology Cooperation and also concurred on accelerating future cooperation in defence equipment and technology. 

About 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting

The 2+2 defence and foreign ministerial dialogue involves the participation of the defence and foreign ministers of two countries, along with their respective counterparts

• Purpose: To discuss strategic, security-related issues and diplomatic matters.
• Held With: India conducts ‘2+2’ dialogues with key strategic partners- the US, Australia, Japan, UK, Russia and Brazil.
  • The US is India’s oldest and most important 2+2 talks partner.
• Rationale: It enables the partners to better understand and appreciate each other’s strategic concerns and sensitivities taking into account political factors on both sides, in order to build a stronger, more integrated strategic relationship in a rapidly changing global environment.
• Significance:
  • Defence and Strategic Agreements: It is a significant platform to discuss and ratify various bilateral agreements. 
    • Example: For deep military cooperation, India and the US have signed Troika Pacts like Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).
  • Addressing Regional Concerns: It is important for India and its partners to align their strategic interests.
    • Example: China’s increasing assertiveness results in the need for cooperation within the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) forum with Japan, Australia, and the United States.
  • Expanding Ties: India values its 2+2 dialogues, acknowledging shared worldviews and goals in promoting a multipolar world order.

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About India-Japan Relations

In the last decade, India-Japan relationship has assumed the form of a special strategic and global partnership. The logic of this evolution is the expanding interests and growing activities.

• Diplomatic & Strategic Relations: It began with the conclusion of a separate Peace Treaty with Japan on 28 April 1952. Since then, the relations have matured over the years to cover a wide range of areas of cooperation. 
  • Strengthening Relations: India-Japan relations were elevated to ‘Global Partnership’ in 2000, ‘Strategic and Global Partnership’ in 2006, and ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ in 2014. 
  • Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA): Negotiations are going on for the agreement through which Japan could gain access to Indian facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and India could have access to Japan’s naval facility in Djibouti.
  • Civil Nuclear Cooperation: In November 2016, an agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy was signed. 
  • Progress in Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA): India has two centres – Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) and Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) located at Gurugram specifically for this purpose under the National Maritime Domain Awareness (NMDA).
    • Regular annual summits have been held between India and Japan since 2006. 
  • India-Japan Act East Forum: It was established in 2017 to provide a platform for India-Japan collaboration under India’s “Act East Policy“ and Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”.
• Political Relations:
  • 2007: The Japanese PM Shinzo Abe visited India and delivered the famous “The Confluence of Two Seas” speech in the Indian parliament. 
    • He was conferred with Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour in 2021. 
  • 2013: 2013 was a monumental year that saw the first-ever visit of the Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko to India. 
  • 2019: The Indian President Ram Nath Kovind visited Japan in October 2019 to attend the Enthronement Ceremony of the Emperor of Japan.
  • 2022: In March 2022, the Japanese PM officially visited India to hold the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit. Both sides agreed on a joint statement titled, “Partnership for a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous Post-COVID World”.
  • 2023: In March 2023, the Japanese PM visited India and held a bilateral meeting with the Indian PM. Both sides renewed the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Japanese Language originally signed in 2017, focusing on higher-level language learning. 
    • India and Japan also announced 2023 as the “India-Japan Year of Tourism Exchange” with the theme “Connecting Himalayas with Mount Fuji”. 
  • In May 2023, the Indian PM visited Japan to attend the G7 Summit as an invitee. 
  • In September 2023, the Japanese PM visited India for the G20 Summit. 
  • 2+2 Ministerial Meeting: It is seen as an upgrade of the meeting between foreign and defense secretaries of the two countries.
    • Japan is the 2nd country with which India has 2+2 ministerial dialogue (after the USA).
  • India-Japan Forum: The inaugural India-Japan Forum was held in July 2021. It sees the participation of eminent representatives of both governments, Parliament, industry, think tanks and academia.
  • Oldest International Friendship Body in Japan: The Japan-India Association set up in 1903 is Japan’s oldest international friendship body.
• Defence Relation: 
  • Various Bilateral Exercises: JIMEX (naval), Malabar exercise (Naval Exercise), ‘Veer Guardian’ and SHINYUU Maitri (Air Force) and Dharma Guardian (Army).
  • Japan has committed to manufacturing 30% of the aircraft in India which would help improve Indian defense manufacturing.
• Common Groupings:
  • Both India and Japan are members of Quad, G20 and G-4, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
    • Japan has also joined India-led initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT). 
• Economic and Commercial Relations: 
  • Japan’s bilateral trade with India totaled US$ 22.85 billion during FY 2023-24. 
  • India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (CEPA): It came into effect in August 2011. 
    • It is the most comprehensive and covers trade in goods and services, movement of natural persons, investments, intellectual property rights, customs procedures and other trade-related issues. 
    • India’s Primary Exports to Japan: Petroleum products, organic chemicals; fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates; nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, etc. 
    • India’s Primary Imports from Japan: Machinery, electrical machinery, iron and steel products, plastic materials, non-ferrous metals, parts of motor vehicles etc.
  • Bilateral Swap Arrangement: Both countries have agreed to a Bilateral Swap Arrangement that would allow their central banks to exchange local currencies for up to $75 billion. 
  • Japanese Investment and Official Development Assistance (ODA):
    • Japanese FDI into India: It has mainly been in automobile, electrical equipment, telecommunications, chemical, financial (insurance) and pharmaceutical sectors.
      • Japan is fifth among source countries for FDI after Mauritius, Singapore, the US and Netherlands.
    • Japan has extended bilateral loans and grant assistance to India since 1958. Japan is the largest bilateral donor to India.
• People-People Ties: In recent years, there has been a change in the composition of the Indian community with the arrival of many professionals, including IT professionals and engineers. The Nishikasai area in Tokyo is emerging as a “mini-India”. 
  • Exchange between Japan and India is said to have begun in the 6th century when Buddhism was introduced to Japan. 
  • Indian culture, filtered through Buddhism, has had a great impact on Japanese culture, and this is the source of the Japanese people’s sense of closeness to India.

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Challenges to the India-Japan Relations

Following are the various challenges faced by bilateral relationship between India and Japan that need to be resolved:

• Growing Chinese aggressiveness in the Indo-Pacific: China’s power and influence are growing in parts of the Indo-Pacific. 
  • Numerous challenges facing the Indo-Pacific such as the Ukraine war, food security, and cyber space in addition to issues such as ensuring the freedom of the seas, and connectivity among others.
• Trade Difference: The trade ties have remained underdeveloped compared to India’s trade ties with China. 
  • Both India and Japan have diverging interests concerning economic issues like E-commerce rules (Osaka track) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
  • India is struggling to penetrate the Japanese market due to language barriers, high quality and service standards.
• Russia Factor: There is a difference of opinion between India and Japan on the responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Japan is part of the U.S.’s alliance and has also joined sanctions against Russia, while India has refused to do so. 
  • Also, there exists a difference of opinion when India participated in the Vostok Exercises, which were held close to South Kuril Island (a disputed territory between Russia and Japan).
• Balancing between QUAD and BRICS: India has not joined the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), while a member of Quad & AIIB. India has long adopted a non-aligned approach as opposed to the stauncher, pro-US foreign policy stances of Japan and Australia.
  • So India has to do a balancing act between Quad and BRICS.
• Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) Project: There is a scepticism on the feasibility of the AAGC itself as well as the nature of the projects embedded in it.
• Defence Exports: India is looking to export defence equipment to other countries, which could potentially compete with Japan’s own defence exports.
  • Negotiations to purchase amphibious US-2 planes have dragged on for years.

Way Forward

Following are the various measures that need to be taken to deepen and strengthen the bilateral relationship between India and Japan:

• Enhancement in Regional Strength: Both India and Japan have economic and military strength that could be used for future regional strength and counter the China factor too.
• Action on Pollution: Pollution is a serious issue, and pollution can be tackled using Japanese green technologies. 
  • Example– Miyawaki Technique: To create dense forests with native plants.
  • Joint crediting mechanism (JCM)- Under JCM, Japanese companies, using their state-of-the-art environmental technologies, will be able to earn carbon credits in return for helping developing countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Address the Trade Bottleneck: To enhance bilateral trade and realise the full potential of economic cooperation.
  • Joint ventures could be created by merging Japanese digital technology with Indian raw materials and labour.
  • India’s purchase of Japan’s indigenously made amphibious US-2 planes, if successfully executed, could also contribute to India’s ‘Make in India’.
• Increase People-to-People Exchange: By involving Indian IT professionals in Japan to boost digitalisation in Japan.
• Expand Partnerships in Science and Technology: Such as 5G, Telecom Network Security, submarine cable systems, and Quantum Communications.
  • Both countries are also engaged in technology in producing submarines and in cooperative research in areas like unmanned Ground Vehicle and Robotics.
• Collaboration on Strategic Connectivity: By linking South Asia to Southeast Asia by harnessing the synergy between the “Act East” policy and the “Partnership for Quality Infrastructure”.

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Conclusion

The Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership represents a unique opportunity for both nations to address emerging challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogues hold importance in strengthening military cooperation, addressing regional and global challenges and promoting shared interests in a dynamic world order.

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