Archive · 20 Aug 2026
India and Japan Deepen Maritime Security and Defence Cooperation
India and Japan signed an agreement to work more closely at sea.
Their navies will share information and cooperate on maritime safety.
They will practice search-and-rescue and disaster-relief missions.
Ships and military personnel may visit each other more often.
The countries will also help each other with ports, logistics, maintenance, and ship repairs.
They want to explore building naval ships together and improving mine-clearing abilities.
Japan and India will continue exercises involving their armies, navies, and air forces.
They also plan to cooperate on defence technology while supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific.
India and Japan signed a Maritime Security Cooperation agreement in New Delhi on Thursday.
The pact expands cooperation on maritime awareness, information sharing, search and rescue, disaster relief, and protecting sea lines of communication.
The countries will increase naval visits, exercises, personnel exchanges, port access, logistics, and reciprocal ship-repair support.
They will explore mine-countermeasure capabilities, joint naval shipbuilding and design, and expanded Japanese use of India’s production capacity under Make in India.
The two sides will advance defence technology and research cooperation, including the UNICORN antenna project, while opposing changes to the status quo by force or coercion.
- Who
- India and Japan, represented by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi.
- What
- They signed a Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation and agreed to deepen naval, defence, technology, logistics, and exercise cooperation.
- When
- Thursday, August 20; some related activities are scheduled for September and later this year.
- Where
- The agreement was signed in New Delhi; Koizumi also visited Mumbai’s Western Naval Command and the Indian Naval Ship Chennai.
- Why
- To strengthen maritime security, protect sea lines of communication, support a free and open Indo-Pacific, and contribute to regional and international stability.
- Agreement
- Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation.
- Maritime priorities
- Maritime Domain Awareness, information sharing, search and rescue, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief.
- Naval coordination
- Mutual ship visits, joint exercises, personnel and subject-matter-expert exchanges, port access, logistics, maintenance, and repair facilities.
- Shipbuilding
- Potential joint naval shipbuilding and design using Japan’s technological expertise and India’s production capabilities.
- Defence manufacturing
- Further discussions on Japan’s use of Indian production capabilities under the Make in India framework.
- Military exercises
- Dharma Guardian, JAIMEX, and Veer Guardian 26; Japanese fighter aircraft are expected to visit India for Veer Guardian 26 for the first time.
- Technology cooperation
- The shipborne UNICORN integrated communications antenna system is described as the first defence equipment transfer project between the countries; DRDO and ATLA will deepen defence research cooperation.
- Coordination mechanism
- A Director-General/Joint Secretary-level Working Group will coordinate operational, intelligence, equipment, technology, and industrial cooperation.
Sources
India, Japan Deepen Maritime Ties Amid China’s Military Muscle-Flexing
India, Japan Ink Maritime Security Pact, Eye Joint Naval Shipbuilding As Rajnath Singh, Shinjiro Koizumi Hold Talks
India, Japan reaffirm commitment to deepen bilateral defence cooperation
