Japanese Air Force Chief Izutsu Shunji Receives Guard Of Honour At Indian Air Headquarters

The Japanese Chief of Staff of Air Force, General Izutsu Shunji on December 10 received Guard of Honour at the Air Headquarters in Delhi. Shunji met with the Indian Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria and the two chiefs are scheduled to hold a bilateral conference to discuss ways to further strengthen military ties between India and Japan. Further, the Japanese General is also set to meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat.

India-Japan relations

Japan was one of the first countries that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited soon after taking the charge of the country in 2014. Since 2015, Japan has joined as a permanent member in the Malabar Naval exercise which is held annually by India, US and Japan. Back in September, India and Japan had also signed an “Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement,” which was seen as a way of coming close diplomatically.

The agreement allows both the countries militaries to exchange supplies and services on a reciprocal basis. These include exercise in which Japan and India participate in the UN and humanitarian assistance operations around the globe, as well as visits to each other’s ports. In October, PM Modi had also given a not for signing a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of cybersecurity between the two countries.

Further, in addition to 5G technology, India also seeks to collaborate with Japan in futuristic submarine optical fibre placements, smart cities and utilisation of artificial intelligence in healthcare. India and Japan share a vision of free, open, inclusive Indo-Pacific region where sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations are ensured.

Moreover, the Indian and Japanese defence forces organise many bilateral exercises like JIMEX (Naval exercise), SHINYUU Maitri (air force exercise) and Dharma Guardian (military exercise) in addition to Malabar Naval exercise regularly.