Japan and India Deepen Defense Ties, Ink $13 Billion in Deals as Takaichi Pushes FOIP

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Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on July 2.

The two leaders issued a joint statement covering stronger maritime security cooperation, including expanded joint exercises between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the Indian Navy, as well as cooperation on ship maintenance and overhaul.

Both sides also reaffirmed the importance of Takaichi's evolved vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).

¥2 Trillion in Private Sector Deals

At a joint press conference at Hyderabad House following the talks, Takaichi announced roughly 120 cooperation agreements between Japanese and Indian companies, including investment worth about ¥2 trillion ($13.3 billion), saying she wanted to "open up the future of Japan and India through public-private collaboration."

She also expressed support for India's bid to join the International Energy Agency, and instructed that the Japan-India 2+2 foreign and defense ministerial security dialogue be convened before the end of the year.

Takaichi said India and Japan are now among the world's largest economies, calling a free, prosperous, and rules-based Indo-Pacific their shared priority. She added that as the region's largest democratic and market economies, the two countries' new initiatives would "pave the way for peace, stability, and progress across the entire region."

Modi, for his part, said the two countries were entering a "new chapter" in their Special Strategic and Global Partnership as two of the world's five largest economies took on greater responsibility for regional stability. He also pointed to the signing of the two nations' first co-development project in the defense sector as evidence of that deepening cooperation.

Economic Security Declaration Targets Coercive Practices

The two sides separately issued a joint declaration on economic security, pledging to advance cooperation across priority sectors including semiconductors, critical minerals, and clean energy.

With China clearly in mind, the declaration expressed concern over economic coercion and non-market policies and practices, including arbitrary export restrictions and price manipulation.

A further joint statement on artificial intelligence positioned Japan and India as "strategic R&D partners in the field of AI." Takaichi invited Modi to visit Japan next year, and Modi accepted.

A Core Pillar for FOIP

The economic security declaration's language on arbitrary export restrictions and price manipulation is clearly aimed at China. The agreement should now be steadily translated into concrete action.

China continues to attempt to change the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas and is expanding its influence in the Indian Ocean as well.

India is a core pillar for realizing FOIP. With the world's largest population, its economy continues to grow steadily, and its nominal GDP is set to overtake Japan's to become the world's fourth-largest.

For Japan, which depends on the Middle East for oil, securing the sea lanes that stretch across the Indian Ocean is also critically important.

Modi also proposed the MAHASAGAR Initiative, a maritime security and economic cooperation framework that extends its geographic scope beyond the Indian Ocean region to the Pacific, sharing the same underlying philosophy as FOIP.

The two initiatives should be developed in tandem to help maintain a free and open maritime order based on the rule of law and to support peace and stability in the region.

Making the Quad Work

To that end, it is essential that the Quad—the framework bringing together Japan, the US, Australia, and India—function fully as a key vehicle for advancing FOIP.

That said, India maintains friendly relations with Russia and is also a member of the BRICS framework, which is led in part by China and Russia.

While India pursues a multi-alignment diplomacy, it remains highly wary of China, with which it has an unresolved border dispute. Notably, Modi has also recently held talks with President Trump.

Takaichi should now seek to convene a Quad leaders' summit—a format that has not met since September 2024—to further solidify unity among Japan, the US, Australia, and India.

New Chapter in India-Japan Partnership Powered by Mid-Sized Companies

Author: The Sankei Shimbun

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