Prepared To Face Chinese Aggression In Taiwan Or LAC, Japan’s Foreign Minister Hayashi Says In Delhi

Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and EAM S Jaishankar have said Tokyo and New Delhi are working towards strengthening their defence and security ties in the wake of Chinese aggression.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Japanese counterpart Hayashi Yoshimasa on Friday clearly spelt out how New Delhi and Tokyo are “prepared” to face China if it wages a war against Taiwan or India, without naming the country. Jaishankar said they are working towards strengthening their defence and security cooperation so as to be able to “work ahead” before the “worst fears” come true.

Hayashi was on a two-day visit to New Delhi for the 15th India-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue, which was held on Thursday. During the meeting, both sides vowed to enhance their partnership in the Indo-Pacific region.

Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Jaishankar said, a partnership between two countries is “tested” during peacetime, when asked how will both countries cooperate with each other in the event China wages a war in the Taiwan Straits or against India along the border areas. “It is actually peacetime, which is when your cooperation is tested. Because if you don’t work every day to build a relationship and to put in place capabilities, comfort and structures, you won't know if I can handle a difficult day,” Jaishankar said on Friday.

He added, “For us, the challenge is to work every day, in every possible way to strengthen our cooperation — whether it’s in economics, supply chains, digital domain, critical technologies, or even maritime security. If you do all of this, I would say you are contributing to strengthening peace, stability and security. So, many of our worst fears do not come true, if we work ahead of it.”

According to Hayashi, both sides are conducting joint exercises across all three services of the respective armed forces that are considered to be “preparation” to face the China challenge.

Without naming China, he said, “We are already engaging the security cooperation, with military exercises on land, at sea, and in air. On top of that, the economic cooperation of the future of people-to-people exchange goes into a more stable and more strong relationship. There is also defence cooperation and all those will be working against any [adverse] scenario in the future.”

India, Japan Defence Cooperation To Grow

India and Japan are now planning to take a significant leap in their defence partnership as they work towards a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“The frequent multi-layered high-level contacts have been the backbone of Japan-India relations. High-level exchanges have acted as the driving force to push forward our security and defence cooperation. We have conducted defence exercises on land, at sea, and in the air, including the first-ever joint fighter jet exercise in January,” said Hayashi.

In January this year, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) conducted a bilateral fighter jet training exercise – 'Veer Guardian 2023' – for the first time showing their combined air power. The exercises are an outcome of the defence logistics pact signed by both sides in 2020, called the 'Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement', or ACSA.

“We see progress on cooperative initiatives in new realms, including cyber and space, where discussions at the working level are being carried out. Discussions toward the realization of substantial cooperation in the areas of defence equipment and technology are also underway,” he added.