India and Japan on Wednesday reviewed their defence ties and agreed to diversify cooperation in new fields like defence, space and cyber during the seventh India-Japan Defence Policy Dialogue here. It was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and Vice Minister of Defence for International Affairs Oka Masami.
Giving details of the talks, officials said a wide range of issues, including Service-level exercises and engagements, regional security issues and cooperation in defence equipment and technology, were discussed. The Japanese Vice Minister also presented policy updates from their recently released National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy.
Both the countries appreciated the growing cooperation between the Services through Staff talks and exercises. They welcomed conduct of inaugural fighter exercise ‘Veer Guardian’ between Indian Air Force and Japanese Air Self Defence Force in January this year in Japan.The Defence Secretary emphasised that both the countries should aim to deepen collaboration between the respective defence industries. He also invited Japanese defence industries to look at investment opportunities in India under ‘Make in India’ initiative. Both sides agreed to diversify cooperation in new and emerging domains like defence space and cyber.
India and Japan reiterated their commitment towards a strong defence partnership and agreed to find opportunities to further enhance bilateral cooperation. Both sides also agreed to hold next Defence Policy Dialogue at mutually convenient dates. The Defence Policy Dialogue is an institutionalized mechanism between India and Japan to discuss bilateral defence cooperation.