India, Japan To Hold Joint Fighter Jet Drill Soon: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met with his counterpart, Yasukazu Hamada in Tokyo on Thursday and reviewed the bilateral defence cooperation as well as regional affairs.

India and japan once again vowed to play a critical role in ensuring a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region amid Chinese assertiveness. Recently, Russia and China held a military exercise in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk.

During the talk, Singh highlighted that the growing bilateral defence exercises between the two countries are a testimony to the deepening of defence cooperation between the two countries.

He said, "In the near future, India and Japan will hold an inaugural fighter exercise. This exercise will pave the way for much greater cooperation and interoperability between the two countries’ Air Forces."

Defence Minister emphasised the need to expand the scope of partnership in the field of Defence Equipment and Technological Cooperation. 

He also invited Japanese industries to invest in India’s defence industry. 

However, UAVs, anti-drone systems, robotics, underwater communication, lithium-ion battery technology, and intelligence systems are some of the projects under consideration to get Japanese investment.

Later, Singh with EAM S. Jaishankar will participate in the second edition of the India-Japan two-plus-two ministerial dialogue.