(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
A short while ago, I held a Japan-India Defense Ministerial Meeting. I would like to make a press announcement about the details. Today, I held a Defense Ministerial Meeting with Defence Minister Singh of India for the first time since we last met in November. The meeting was attended by chiefs of staff from the Indian Armed Forces’ services, and a highly substantive discussion was held. At the outset, I extended my sincere condolences to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack in the Kashmir on April 22. I stated that terrorism cannot be justified for any reason, and that Japan is firmly committed to combatting terrorism in cooperation with India and the international community. On top of that, I stated that I expect related countries to act with responsibility for the peace and stability of South Asia. The regional and international situation currently surrounding both countries is becoming more complex and uncertain rapidly. Along with that, it is becoming increasingly important and necessary to enhance cooperation and collaboration in defense between Japan and India, which share the ideal of realizing peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific based on the rule of law. At today’s meeting, considering this situation, Minister Singh and I concurred that it was important to create a large synergy in the Indo-Pacific region by enhancing the collaboration among initiatives led by each country in defense, thereby generating new values and interests not only for our two countries but for the entire region. I then suggested to proceed with the collaboration as “Japan India Defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region (JIDIP)” between our defense authorities from now on, and under it, swiftly materialize specific cooperation and collaboration. Minister Singh welcomed the suggestion and stated that he would like to discuss the content in detail. On this basis, we confirmed our intention to fundamentally enrich concrete cooperation and collaboration among the various military services of Japan and India. In addition, we proposed to establish a meeting framework for coordinating and managing the progress of the bilateral cooperation and collaboration from a comprehensive and integrated point of view, and concurred to coordinate in this direction. Furthermore, we concurred to continue expanding and deepening collaboration in exercises and trainings conducted by both countries, including the bilateral exercise “Dharma Guardian.” We also confirmed that the two countries will continue to collaborate for protecting sea lines of communication, aiming to ensure the security of sea lanes which are vital for not only Japan and India but also for the region and international community. Moreover, we concurred to deepen Japan-India bilateral collaboration in Southeast Asia. It was decided that these items will be discussed in detail going forward. Building on the outcomes of my visit to India, Japan will continue to further strengthen relations with India, and the two countries will continue to strive to deepen concrete cooperation and collaboration to ensure peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.