Japan, India defense chiefs agree to deepen maritime security cooperation

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh met in New Delhi on Thursday to bolster maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. The two nations agreed to enhance information sharing, search and rescue efforts, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief coordination. They also discussed promoting vessel maintenance and port use collaboration.

During their summit in India, the defense chiefs expressed grave concern over increasing Chinese military activity in the East and South China Seas. They acknowledged the growing importance of their roles in maintaining international order. Koizumi stated that a "two-plus-two" meeting of foreign and defense ministers would take place in November.

Following Japan's recent decision to ease defense equipment export rules, India will expedite domestic procedures for transferring Unicorn communication antennas, which are installed on Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers. The two countries also agreed to explore joint shipbuilding opportunities while affirming their commitment to strengthening mine countermeasure capabilities through a combination of Japanese technology and Indian production capacity. They pledged to mutually utilize their ship repair facilities.