India and Japan held their first 2+2 defence and foreign minister-level dialogue on November 30. This dialogue aimed at advancing the India-Japan bilateral relations and has been held ahead of the annual summit meeting taking place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in December.
It was for the first time that the defence and foreign ministers of India and Japan met under a new format. Although Japan has such 2+2 meetings with many other countries, India has its 2+2 arrangement only with the US. And now, the name of Japan is also added to the category.
The idea of holding 2+2 meeting
The decision of conducting this meeting was taken By Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe last year. Appreciating their joint efforts towards shared security and expressing their desire to strengthen the bilateral security and defence cooperation, the leaders decided to institute the Foreign and defence Ministerial 2+2 dialogue. And the decision regarding holding the 2+2 meeting in New Delhi this year was made by India’s defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart when he visited Japan in September 2019.
Here are the highlights of this meeting
- The Ministers shared the view to hold bilateral exercises between the defence forces on a regular basis and making efforts to expand the cooperation further. They welcomed the recently conducted second “SHINYUU Maitri-2019” and the second “Dharma Guardian- 2019”. The Ministers also agreed to coordinate for the first India-Japan joint fighter aircraft exercise in Japan.
- The Ministers showed their intention to promote cooperation in the field of capacity building in Maritime Domain Awareness and Maritime Security after acknowledging the role of maritime safety in achieving an open, free and rule-based Indo-Pacific. They also showed interest in implementation arrangement for deepening Cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force.
- Emphasizing on the need of strengthening the defence technology and equipment, the Ministers looked forward to productive discussions in the 5th Joint Working Group on defence Equipment and Technology Cooperation.
- The Ministers expressed their intentions to continue and expand the exchange programmes between the educational and research institutions of both the countries.
- In order to achieve their shared objectives, the Ministers expressed their dedication to working together with ASEAN. The Ministers also recapped their support for ASEAN-led frameworks like the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and ASEAN defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus).
- The Ministers had a fruitful exchange of ideas on the regional issues of mutual interests, specifically the security situation in the Indo-Pacific.
- The Japanese Ministers appreciated India’s “Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative” that was announced at the recent 14th EAS to create a safe, secure, stable and sustainable maritime domain. They also confirmed their readiness to discuss cooperation based on the Initiative.
The Ministers, while focusing on the importance of exchanging opinions in light of the success of this 2+2 Ministerial Meeting, decided to hold the next 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo.