NEW DELHI: Amid growing convergence on strategic issues, including their vision for a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific, India and Japan agreed in a joint statement issued after the 2+2 dialogue on Tuesday to revise and update the 2008 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation to reflect contemporary priorities and to be responsive to the current security challenges facing them.
TOI had first reported on Tuesday that India and Japan were looking to renew and upgrade the Declaration that had laid the foundations for stronger security cooperation between India and Japan through, among other things, strategic dialogue between the foreign ministers and consultations between the defence ministers and NSAs.
A revised and updated Declaration is likely to be announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan later this year for the annual summit.
As they discussed growing Chinese assertiveness in South and East China Seas, India and Japan also agreed to explore possibility of security & defence cooperation with third countries for peace and stability in Indo-Pacific.
“A free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific is the top priority for both our countries. We explored the possibility of coordinating our respective security and development assistance where our interests converge,” said foreign minister S Jaishankar, adding the two sides agreed to prepare a new framework for security cooperation. He also announced India will open a new consulate in the city of Fukuoka.
India and Japan held their third 2+2 foreign and defence industrial meeting as foreign minister S Jaishankar and defence minister Rajnath Singh hosted their counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara respectively. A Japanese spokesperson said after the meeting that both the sides also agreed to start discussions for a logistics agreement that will allow Japanese naval ships to undergo repair work in India. While there was no announcement of a deal for transfer of stealth naval ship antennas to India as reports from Tokyo said, the joint statement expressed satisfaction about the progress made for the proposed procurement by India of what is known as Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN).
There were talks also on major regional and global issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war, and the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining and strengthening the rules-based international order founded on the principles of the UN Charter, respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to the threat or use of force.
They emphasised the need for all countries to refrain from any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo. While the ministers, unlike in the first 2+2 joint statement in 2019, didn’t name Pakistan, they unequivocally condemned cross-border terrorism, and called for bringing the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai, Pathankot, and other attacks to justice.
“They called for concerted actions against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Al Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Muhammed and their proxy groups, and to take resolute actions to root out terrorists’ safe havens, eliminate terrorist financing channels, and halt cross-border movement of terrorists,” said the joint statement.
Jaishankar said India and Japan are resolute in their opposition to terrorism, including cross-border terrorism. “We discussed strengthening our capacity-building cooperation, including on dealing with challenges emanating in the cyber space and through the misuse of digital technologies,” said the minister.
TOI had first reported on Tuesday that India and Japan were looking to renew and upgrade the Declaration that had laid the foundations for stronger security cooperation between India and Japan through, among other things, strategic dialogue between the foreign ministers and consultations between the defence ministers and NSAs.
A revised and updated Declaration is likely to be announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan later this year for the annual summit.
As they discussed growing Chinese assertiveness in South and East China Seas, India and Japan also agreed to explore possibility of security & defence cooperation with third countries for peace and stability in Indo-Pacific.
“A free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific is the top priority for both our countries. We explored the possibility of coordinating our respective security and development assistance where our interests converge,” said foreign minister S Jaishankar, adding the two sides agreed to prepare a new framework for security cooperation. He also announced India will open a new consulate in the city of Fukuoka.
India and Japan held their third 2+2 foreign and defence industrial meeting as foreign minister S Jaishankar and defence minister Rajnath Singh hosted their counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara respectively. A Japanese spokesperson said after the meeting that both the sides also agreed to start discussions for a logistics agreement that will allow Japanese naval ships to undergo repair work in India. While there was no announcement of a deal for transfer of stealth naval ship antennas to India as reports from Tokyo said, the joint statement expressed satisfaction about the progress made for the proposed procurement by India of what is known as Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN).
There were talks also on major regional and global issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war, and the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining and strengthening the rules-based international order founded on the principles of the UN Charter, respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to the threat or use of force.
They emphasised the need for all countries to refrain from any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo. While the ministers, unlike in the first 2+2 joint statement in 2019, didn’t name Pakistan, they unequivocally condemned cross-border terrorism, and called for bringing the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai, Pathankot, and other attacks to justice.
“They called for concerted actions against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Al Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Muhammed and their proxy groups, and to take resolute actions to root out terrorists’ safe havens, eliminate terrorist financing channels, and halt cross-border movement of terrorists,” said the joint statement.
Jaishankar said India and Japan are resolute in their opposition to terrorism, including cross-border terrorism. “We discussed strengthening our capacity-building cooperation, including on dealing with challenges emanating in the cyber space and through the misuse of digital technologies,” said the minister.