India-Japan Strategic Partnership 

It is not for no reason that Japan is the second most reliable partner in the mind space of Indians after Russia. It is the only other country apart from Russia with which India has established a mechanism of annual summits between the leaders.

Both nations are now focused on co-developing and co-producing dual-use technologies, specifically in robotics, uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs), and artificial intelligence. To reduce supply chain dependencies in the region, Japan and India have decided to cooperate closely on critical minerals and semiconductors, ensuring secure, reliable access to materials vital to defence production.

Both nations emphasise a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region. This includes countering regional maritime threats and maintaining freedom of navigation.

The India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership is geared toward countering regional instability, building resilient supply chains, and advancing high-speed infrastructure like the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail and, more importantly, an economic security partnership.  

The economic security partnership covers five sectors.

Semiconductors: Joint development and supply chain stabilisation; Critical minerals: Securing upstream resources essential for advanced manufacturing; Information and Communication Technology (ICT) & Artificial Intelligence (AI): Enhancing artificial intelligence and telecommunication networks; Clean Energy: Advancing collaborative efforts toward sustainable power, and Pharmaceuticals: Building resilience in the medical and drug supply. These areas are critical for India’s growth story and technological advancement while providing a market for Japanese businesses.

Defence Partnership On Cusp Of Transformation

India and Japan share a rapidly expanding "Special Strategic and Global Partnership" centred on Indo-Pacific security. The key pillars of this defence cooperation include the transfer of advanced military technology (such as UNICORN stealth antenna systems), the Reciprocal Provisions of Supplies and Services (ACSA) agreement, and joint exercises like the Malabar Exercise and JIMEX designed to strengthen maritime interoperability.

Last year, New Delhi and Tokyo decided to conduct bilateral exercises between the two forces in a wide range of fields with increasing complexity and sophistication and reciprocal participation in multilateral exercises hosted by each other. They will explore establishing a new meeting framework on comprehensive dialogue between Joint Staffs. They will explore tri-service exercises to prepare for humanitarian and disaster relief operations in the Indo-Pacific. The two sides will also collaborate on Special Operations Units.

The two countries will explore opportunities to cooperate in the niche areas of each other’s priorities such as counter-terrorism, peacekeeping operations, and cyber defence; sharing information, including assessments with respect to emerging security risks, and utilising each other’s facilities for repair and maintenance of defence platforms.

There will be more frequent visits and port calls by vessels belonging to the Japan Self-Defence Forces, Indian Armed Forces, and Coast Guards.

Japan’s decision to emerge as a defence exporter and strengthen its defence industrial base will also help to promote and facilitate technological and industrial collaboration between the two government entities and private sector stakeholders for resilience in sectors critical to national security.

Regular industry exposure visits in defence and security areas - focusing on specific capabilities, startups and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) towards both current and future security needs - are imperative.

There should also be enhancement of defence R&D cooperation between the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India (DRDO) and the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency of Japan (ATLA).  

Simultaneously, it is important to strengthen the bilateral mechanism to counter terrorism, radical extremism, and organised transnational crimes, including in the digital domain and in their use of unmanned systems and modern information and communication technology, through intelligence and experience sharing. Promoting joint R&D, academia, and industry collaboration in lockstep with advances in technologies such as AI, robotics, quantum, semiconductor, autonomous technology, future networks, biotechnology, and cyber security, while ensuring security and integrity, is also imperative.

Japan’s Rising Defence Spend

The Japanese cabinet has approved a record defence budget of 9.04 trillion yen (approximately US$ 58 billion). This trajectory firmly pushes Japan toward spending 2% of its GDP on defence, which will rank it among the highest military spenders globally.

Defence cooperation between Vietnam and Japan has continued to expand substantively and become increasingly effective and practical in recent years. Tokyo and Canberra cemented a US$ 8.5 billion agreement for Australia to acquire 11 frigates designed by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. India should be the favoured partner for Japan for defence industry collaboration in Asia and the two countries are standing on the cusp of a revolutionary step in this sector to hedge against the ambitions of other powers.  

(The writer is a commentator on geopolitics. Views expressed are personal.)