India-Japan defence cooperation breaks new ground
India and Japan have broadened defence cooperation to cover maritime security, naval shipbuilding, defence technology, and intelligence sharing, as part of a wider Indo-Pacific partnership.
A Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA) on maritime security cooperation has been concluded, providing for closer coordination between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) on information sharing, joint operations, and maritime domain awareness.
The two countries' defence ministries have agreed to explore joint naval shipbuilding and design, combining Japanese technological capability with Indian manufacturing capacity.
Bilateral military exercises — including the Army exercise Dharma Guardian, the naval exercise JIMEX, and the air exercise Veer Guardian — continue to expand, alongside a first trilateral naval exercise involving Indonesia in 2026.
India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership
India and Japan elevated their bilateral relationship to a "Special Strategic and Global Partnership" in 2014, the highest tier of partnership terminology India uses in its diplomatic vocabulary, reflecting convergence on economic, strategic, and Indo-Pacific interests.
The maritime security MoA and shipbuilding cooperation extend this institutional partnership from dialogue and logistics support into concrete platform-level and industrial cooperation.
The Indo-Pacific Construct and the Quad
"Indo-Pacific" is a geopolitical framing that links the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean as a single strategic theatre, promoted by India, Japan, the US, and Australia (among others) as an alternative to the older, narrower "Asia-Pacific" framing. Japan (under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe) is credited with first articulating the "Confluence of the Two Seas" concept in 2007, an intellectual precursor to today's Indo-Pacific strategy.
Key Details
- The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue ("Quad") — India, Japan, US, Australia — originated in 2007, lapsed, and was revived in 2017; it is a non-treaty, non-alliance grouping focused on maritime security, connectivity, supply chains, and technology.
- The Malabar naval exercise, begun in 1992 as a bilateral India-US drill, became a standing Quad exercise after Japan's permanent inclusion in 2015 and Australia's return in 2020.
- India's own Indo-Pacific policy is articulated through SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region, 2015) and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI, 2019), emphasising inclusivity and non-alliance "multi-alignment."
The article's framing of India-Japan cooperation moving "beyond China-centric security concerns" reflects India's stated Indo-Pacific doctrine of pursuing partnerships for regional public goods (maritime domain awareness, disaster relief, connectivity) rather than an explicit containment alliance.
Defence Industrial Cooperation and "Make in India"
Joint development and co-production of defence platforms with partner countries is a stated element of India's defence procurement policy, aimed at reducing import dependence and building domestic capacity.
Key Details
- India's defence procurement categories under the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) include "Buy (Indian)," "Buy & Make (Indian)," and "Make," with joint ventures and technology transfer arrangements typically falling under "Buy & Make" or Make categories.
- Naval shipbuilding cooperation of the kind now being explored with Japan follows a pattern seen in other bilateral defence-industrial arrangements, such as India-France cooperation on submarines (Scorpene-class, Project 75) and India-Russia cooperation on frigates and missile systems (BrahMos).
- Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by the Raksha Mantri, is the apex body that accords "Acceptance of Necessity" for capital defence procurements before they proceed to contract negotiation.
Exploration of joint naval shipbuilding and design with Japan represents a shift from earlier India-Japan defence engagement (largely dialogue and exercises) toward the kind of industrial/technology cooperation India seeks with all major defence partners under its indigenisation push.
- India-Japan ties elevated to "Special Strategic and Global Partnership": 2014.
- India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue rounds held: 2019, 2022, 2024.
- ACSA (logistics agreement) signed: September 2020; entered into force: July 2021.
- Quad grouping origin: 2007 (first proposed), revived 2017; members — India, Japan, US, Australia.
- Malabar exercise: started 1992 (India-US bilateral); Japan permanent member since 2015; Australia joined 2020, making it a full Quad exercise.
- Bilateral exercises referenced: Dharma Guardian (Army), JIMEX (Navy), Veer Guardian (Air Force); first India-Japan-Indonesia trilateral naval exercise held in 2026.