India and Japan have agreed to further strengthen defence cooperation, with a new maritime security agreement aimed at enhancing operational coordination between the armed forces and deepening the two countries’ “Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership.”

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, at the Japan-India Defence Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, reaffirmed their commitment to expanding cooperation in maritime security and signed a Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation, the Ministry of Defence said.

The agreement provides a framework for advancing bilateral maritime security cooperation, including stronger engagement between the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Indian Navy. It covers information sharing for Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), as well as cooperation in Search and Rescue (SAR) and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.

The arrangement is also expected to improve coordination in protecting sea lines of communication through reciprocal visits by naval ships and units, joint exercises, personnel and Subject Matter Expert (SME) exchanges, and logistical support, including access to ports and maintenance and repair facilities.

The two Ministers agreed to maximise synergies in mine countermeasures and explore opportunities for joint development in naval shipbuilding and design by leveraging Japan’s technological expertise under India’s “Make in India” framework.

They welcomed the steady expansion of bilateral military exercises, including the Japan-India Army exercise ‘Dharma Guardian’ and the Japan-India Maritime Exercise ‘JAIMEX’. They also noted the progress towards the Japan-India Air Force exercise ‘Veer Guardian 26’, scheduled to be held later this year.

On the proposed transfer of the shipborne UNICORN integrated communications antenna system, the first defence equipment transfer project between India and Japan, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to working towards its early realisation and deepening the defence R&D cooperation between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation and Japan's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency in the field of state-of-the-art defence technologies.

The Ministers also discussed establishing a Working Group headed at the Director-General/Joint Secretary level to advance bilateral defence cooperation in an integrated manner across operational, intelligence, equipment, technology and industrial domains, while respecting the respective policies and sovereign choices of both countries, the Ministry said.