(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
Following on from my visit to Australia until two days ago, I paid an official two-day visit to India from yesterday, August 19, to today, August 20. Yesterday, after arriving in Delhi, I traveled aboard an aircraft of the Indian Air Force to Mumbai, where I visited the Indian Navy’s Western Command and toured INS Chennai, an active-duty destroyer of the Indian Navy. Admiral Swaminathan, Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, accompanied me from Delhi, and I received a very warm welcome. Mumbai is not only home to a major base of the Indian Navy. It is also the location of one of the ports of call for Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) vessels engaged in counter-piracy activities and has close ties with Japan. Coinciding with Prime Minister Takaichi’s visit to India, a bilateral exercise by Japanese and Indian vessels was conducted off the coast of Mumbai. I believe it was highly significant that I, for the first time by a Japanese Defense Minister, visited Mumbai, which shares a deep bond with Japan, and reaffirmed the importance of Japan-India defense cooperation while seeing firsthand the high level of capability and morale of the Indian Navy. This morning, I offered flowers at the National War Memorial. After receiving the guard of honor from the Indian Armed Forces, I held my first defense ministerial meeting with Defence Minister Singh. At the meeting, we first reaffirmed our commitment to swiftly materialize defense cooperation as part of our partnership of trust under the strategic direction shared between Prime Minister Takaichi and Prime Minister Modi during Prime Minister Takaichi’s visit to India in July of this year. We also concurred on further accelerating the three areas of cooperation advanced between Japan and India. First, in the area of defense equipment and technology cooperation, in order to achieve the early transfer of UNICORN to India, we reaffirmed that, building on the momentum generated by the support of our two leaders, we will aim to convene a “2+2” meeting and work closely together, including on India’s domestic procedures. Second, in the area of cooperation among the services, we welcomed the steady expansion and deepening of bilateral exercises between the respective services, particularly the visit to India by Air Self-Defense Force fighter aircraft for the first time for the Japan-India Air Force exercise “Veer Guardian,” scheduled to be held soon. Third, in order for Japan and India to contribute together to peace and stability in the region and the wider world, we concurred on jointly materializing the expansion and deepening of cooperation with third countries, including Southeast Asian countries, and cooperation under the Japan-Australia-India-U.S. (Quad) framework. To rapidly elevate Japan-India defense cooperation to further heights, we decided to pursue six new initiatives. First, we signed the Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation, which will serve as a written guideline for concrete cooperation between the MSDF and the Indian Navy. This is the first time that the Ministry of Defense has signed a document focusing on maritime security cooperation with another country. Second, as part of the efforts to implement this memorandum, we concurred on transferring equipment that would strengthen the Indian Navy’s mine countermeasures capabilities and on jointly exploring the possibility of joint development in naval shipbuilding and design. I proposed that we call this broad direction as “Design with Japan, Make in India,” which was welcomed by Minister Singh. Third, in order for both countries to contribute flexibly to ensuring the security of Sea Lines of Communications across the Indo-Pacific, we concurred on newly initiating the reciprocal provision of repair and maintenance services at shipyards in Japan and India. Fourth, to materialize defense equipment and technology cooperation, we concurred on proceeding along two tracks. The first is advancing discussions among the respective services concerning operational requirements. The second is cooperating on research and development in state-of-the-art defense technologies between the defense equipment authorities of the two countries. We concurred on strengthening our efforts along these two tracks. Fifth, with regard to testing and training with Japanese equipment, I conveyed to Minister Singh that Japan would like to explore the possibility of the Self-Defense Forces using ranges in India. The two sides will continue discussions in the lead-up to the next “2+2.” Sixth, in order to advance the various initiatives agreed upon at today’s meeting, including those I just mentioned, in an integrated and swift manner, we concurred on newly establishing a Working Group headed at the Director-General / Joint Secretary level of Japan and India. Prime Minister Takaichi and Prime Minister Modi have agreed to hold a “2+2” within this year. Under the leadership of Minister Singh and myself, we will further accelerate discussions to achieve substantive and concrete outcomes on the projects I just outlined, at the defense ministerial meeting to be held on the occasion of the “2+2.” Later today, I will pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Modi. Building on the outcomes of today’s Japan-India defense ministerial meeting, I intend to convey my determination to advance Japan-India defense cooperation in a swift and tangible manner together with Minister Singh, under the leadership of Prime Minister Takaichi and Prime Minister Modi. In conclusion, I would once again like to express my deepest gratitude to Minister Singh and other members of the Government of India and the Ministry of Defence for the warm welcome extended to me throughout my visit, including during yesterday’s tour of naval facilities in Mumbai and today’s guard of honor and defense ministerial meeting. That concludes my opening remarks.