Japan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

NEW DELHI — Japan’s foreign minister used a visit to India Saturday to push for tighter maritime security ties between the two nations, as Tokyo seeks to shore up its relationships in Asia to counter an increasingly powerful China.

Fumio Kishida, who met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, is on his first overseas visit since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe secured a landmark victory in national elections last month.

“Japan and India have been increasing cooperation in the field of maritime security… It is important to further strengthen our cooperation,” Kishida said in a speech to the Indian Council of World Affairs in New Delhi on Saturday.

Both India and Japan have signalled a keenness to beef up their defense ties in recent months to counter an increasingly assertive China.

The two governments are expected to discuss the possible manufacturing of U.S.-2 amphibian aircraft in India and Japan’s continued participation in India-U.S. maritime exercises....to read more

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Japan, Britain hold first ‘two plus two’ security talks

LONDON – The Japanese and British foreign and defense ministers were to meet Wednesday to discuss closer security cooperation, including a possible exercise to evacuate each other’s nationals from a crisis overseas, a Japanese official said.

The “two plus two” talks were to be the first ever held by the Japanese and British governments.

They were expected to agree to pursue cooperation between the Self-Defense Forces and British armed forces in such fields as post-disaster relief and humanitarian aid.

The two governments were expected also to agree to consider joint exercises to prepare for future U.N.-led peacekeeping operations and a possible drill to rescue noncombatants overseas, the official said...........to read more

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In keeping with their expanding strategic partnership, the Modi government has asked the Shinzo Abe administration whether it would be interested in the over Rs 50,000 crore project to build six stealth submarines in India.

With Japan recently ending its decades old self-imposed arms export embargo, New Delhi has forwarded "a proposal" to Tokyo to "consider the possibility" of making its latest diesel-electric Soryu-class submarines in India, say sources.

This "feeler" dovetails into PM Narendra Modi's strategic outreach to Japan, as well as Australia and the US, since he took over last year. The possible sale of Japanese US-2i ShinMayva amphibious aircraft to the Indian Navy is already being discussed. Australia, too, is considering the Soryu submarines to replace its ageing Collins-class vessels.

The US, on its part, has been pushing for greater defence cooperation among India, Japan and Australia to counter China's assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region. The recent Obama-Modi summit led to the "joint strategic vision for Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region" with a direct reference to South China Sea, where China is locked in territorial disputes with its neighbours. Both Japan and Australia are also keen to participate in the annual Indo-US Malabar naval exercise on a regular basis, which has riled China in the past.

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U.S. would welcome Japan air patrols in South China Sea

TOKYO — The United States would welcome a move by Japan to extend air patrols into the South China Sea as a counterweight to a growing fleet of Chinese vessels pushing Beijing’s territorial claims in the region, a senior U.S. Navy officer told Reuters.

Currently, regular patrols by Japanese aircraft only reach into the East China Sea, where Tokyo is at loggerheads with Beijing over disputed islands. Extending surveillance flights into the South China Sea will almost certainly increase tensions between the world’s second- and third-largest economies.

“I think allies, partners and friends in the region will look to the Japanese more and more as a stabilizing function,” Admiral Robert Thomas, commander of the Seventh Fleet and the top U.S. Navy officer in Asia, said in an interview.

“In the South China Sea, frankly, the Chinese fishing fleet, the Chinese coast guard and the (navy) overmatch their neighbors,” Thomas said.

China’s foreign ministry said it had no immediate comment on the interview.

Thomas’s comments show Pentagon support for a key element of Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push for a more active military role in the region. That is crucial because U.S and Japanese officials are now negotiating new bilateral security guidelines expected to give Japan a bigger role in the alliance, 70 years after the end of World War Two....... to read more

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Jeff Head said:

SamuraiBlue posted this article on the UK Military News thread about fresh talks between the UK and Japan to strengthen security relationship with Britain and Japan.

I thought it also belonged here.

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PanAsian said:

Both Britain and Japan are island nations with advantageous naval geography and with blocking in continental powers a cornerstone of their strategic position, so it makes sense that will trickle down into similar tactics and equipment needs that can be jointly developed.

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