India and Japan on Thursday signed a new agreement to deepen maritime security cooperation, with the two sides also agreeing to explore joint naval shipbuilding and expand defence technology ties amid growing strategic challenges across the Indo-Pacific. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi signed the Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation following talks in New Delhi. The agreement provides a framework for closer operational engagement between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Naval cooperation gets boost
The pact envisages stronger information sharing in maritime domain awareness, closer coordination between the two navies and enhanced cooperation in areas including search and rescue. The two ministers agreed on the need to translate their maritime partnership into practical cooperation. They discussed increasing coordination in mine countermeasure capabilities and other areas where the two countries can combine their operational and technological strengths.
Singh and Koizumi also exchanged assessments of the regional and global security environment and stressed the importance of maintaining freedom and safety of navigation and overflight. Without naming any country, the two sides opposed attempts to alter the status quo through force or coercion. The position comes amid persistent concerns over China's increasingly assertive military activities in the East and South China Seas and its expanding naval presence across the Indo-Pacific.
India and Japan reiterated their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and agreed that closer defence coordination would contribute to regional peace and stability.
Shipbuilding cooperation explored
Defence industrial cooperation formed another important part of the talks. India and Japan agreed to examine opportunities for jointly developing naval vessels and collaborating on ship design. The proposed arrangement could combine Japanese technological expertise with India's expanding shipbuilding and manufacturing capabilities under the Make in India initiative.
Both countries also agreed to explore greater use of each other's ship-repair facilities, potentially allowing their naval vessels to receive maintenance support during deployments away from home ports. The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the early implementation of the UNICORN project, involving Japan's advanced integrated communications antenna system for Indian naval platforms. The project represents an important step in defence equipment and technology cooperation between the two countries.
Military engagement expands
India and Japan already maintain extensive military ties through bilateral and multilateral exercises. Their navies participate in the JIMEX exercise, while Japan is also a permanent participant in the Malabar naval exercise alongside India, the United States and Australia.
The two sides now intend to expand exchanges involving their air forces and other military services. Japan's fighter aircraft are also expected to participate in exercises in India, further broadening operational engagement. The latest agreement reflects the steady transformation of India-Japan relations from a predominantly economic partnership into a broader strategic and security relationship.
For New Delhi, Japan is an important partner in strengthening maritime capabilities and developing domestic defence manufacturing. For Tokyo, cooperation with India provides a significant strategic partnership extending from the western Pacific into the Indian Ocean. The new maritime framework gives that partnership a more operational character, with naval coordination, technology and defence production increasingly becoming central pillars of bilateral ties.