When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met in late August, their governments unveiled a document that could well become a watershed in Asian security: the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between India and Japan.
For years, New Delhi and Tokyo have talked of a “Special Strategic and Global Partnership,” rooted in shared democratic values and converging geopolitical concerns.
The new declaration, however, goes further. It marks the maturation of India–Japan security ties from symbolic gestures and occasional exercises into a broad-based, structured, and forward-looking framework.
In essence, India and Japan are signalling that they now see each other as indispensable partners in shaping the security architecture of the Indo-Pacific.
The Strategic Context
This leap did not come in a vacuum. Both India and Japan face an Indo-Pacific environment fraught with challenges.
In the East China Sea and South China Sea, coercive behaviour and militarization have raised alarm. In South Asia, cross-border terrorism and instability persist.
Meanwhile, the rapid militarization of new technologies, from drones to cyber warfare, necessitates cooperation that extends beyond traditional domains.
Equally, both countries are acutely aware of the risks of economic coercion, overdependence on critical minerals, and the vulnerabilities of global supply chains.
Security today is not confined to the military sphere; it encompasses the economy, technology, cyberspace, and outer space. The declaration reflects this holistic view.
Building Military Interoperability
Perhaps the most striking feature of the declaration is its emphasis on building interoperability between the Indian Armed Forces and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.
This includes expanding the scope and complexity of bilateral exercises, conducting tri-service drills, and even considering a comprehensive dialogue between their respective Joint Staffs.
The past decade has already seen progress. The new framework formalizes and expands these activities. Cooperation between special operations units, joint humanitarian and disaster relief drills, and collaboration on counter-terrorism and cyber defence indicate that India and Japan are moving beyond naval cooperation into land, air, and multi-domain arenas.
Equally significant is the plan to leverage the Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services Agreement to allow logistical support for each other’s forces.
In practice, this could mean Indian warships accessing Japanese bases or Japanese vessels refueling in Indian ports, thereby enhancing the operational reach for both.
Maritime Security At The Core
For two nations that sit astride critical sea lanes, maritime security remains the heart of their cooperation. The declaration emphasizes frequent port calls, coordinated patrols, and enhanced information sharing.
India’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) and Japan’s participation in the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) will allow the two to build a common maritime picture. This is crucial in monitoring not only state actors but also piracy, smuggling, and other transnational crimes.
Importantly, the declaration links maritime security with disaster resilience. Both countries, prone to natural disasters, will deepen collaboration through multilateral platforms such as the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. This adds a humanitarian dimension that strengthens legitimacy and buy-in across the region.
Technology & Defence Industry Collaboration
Another pillar of the declaration is defence industrial cooperation. India and Japan recognize that the next generation of security partnerships will be built not only on exercises and training, but on co-development and co-production of advanced technologies.
The mechanism for Defence Equipment and Technology Cooperation is now tasked with identifying specific projects. Start-ups, MSMEs, and niche capabilities are being brought into the conversation. From military medicine to chemical and radiological defense, from cybersecurity to AI and robotics, the areas of potential are wide-ranging.
This is also about economic security. By collaborating on critical minerals, export controls, and resilient supply chains, India and Japan are tying their defence partnership to their broader geoeconomic strategies.
Meeting New-Age Threats
Where the declaration breaks new ground is in its attention to non-traditional and emerging threats. It identifies terrorism and radical extremism as areas for deeper intelligence-sharing, explicitly including the digital domain and unmanned systems.
Equally, it pushes the frontier on technology. Cooperation is envisaged in AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, space situational awareness, and biotechnology. Both sides are aware that whoever shapes standards and leads in these technologies will also shape the future security order.
For India, this is an opportunity to plug into Japan’s high-tech ecosystem. For Japan, it presents an opportunity to leverage India’s scale, talent pool, and increasingly sophisticated digital economy.
Multilateral & Global Convergence
India and Japan’s congruence is not limited to bilateral ties. The declaration situates their cooperation within a broader multilateral framework.
Support for ASEAN centrality, the Quad, and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific ensures that their partnership complements regional mechanisms. The two countries also highlight quality infrastructure investment as an alternative to projects that compromise sovereignty or create debt dependence.
At the global level, they reinforce their mutual support for United Nations Security Council reform, calling for expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories, and backing each other’s candidature for permanent seats.
On nuclear issues, the declaration underscores their shared commitment to non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament, and negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. It also reiterates support for India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group, which Japan has long backed, despite its traditionally cautious stance on nuclear issues.
Terrorism & Cross-Border Security
The declaration pulls no punches on terrorism. It condemns all forms of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, and calls for halting financial and material support to terrorist networks. It goes further by urging the adoption of the long-pending Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN.
For India, which continues to face cross-border terrorism, this alignment with Japan strengthens its diplomatic hand. For Japan, traditionally less vocal on South Asian security concerns, this marks a shift towards greater political solidarity with India.
Institutionalizing Security Ties
Finally, the declaration institutionalizes the relationship. Annual dialogues between National Security Advisers, a reinvigorated India–Japan Defence Industry Forum, and regular coast guard consultations are now part of the architecture. The 2+2 ministerial dialogue between foreign and defence ministers will provide high-level oversight.
This institutionalization ensures continuity and predictability, protecting the partnership from political changes or bureaucratic inertia.
The Road Ahead
The Joint Declaration is ambitious. It spans domains ranging from traditional defense to cyber, space, and critical technologies. Its success will depend on delivery.
India’s defence bureaucracy is often slow; Japan’s pacifist constitution imposes constraints. Bridging these gaps requires sustained political will and constant adaptation.
Yet, the momentum is unmistakable. India and Japan are no longer content to be “like-minded democracies” that occasionally consult.
They are becoming operational partners, building habits of cooperation that will endure.
Conclusion
The Indo-Pacific’s future will be shaped by coalitions of cooperation rather than rigid alliances. In this emerging order, the India–Japan security partnership stands out for its strategic congruence, complementarity of strengths, and clarity of purpose.
The Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation is not just another diplomatic text. It is a roadmap for two Asian powers to shape their destiny, secure their seas, protect their economies, and prepare for the technologies of tomorrow.
For India and Japan, the message is clear: security cooperation is no longer optional, but is existential.
- Gurjit Singh is a former Ambassador to Germany, Indonesia, Ethiopia, ASEAN, and the African Union Chair, CII Task Force on Trilateral Cooperation in Africa, Professor, IIT Indore.
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