Joint India-Japan exercise sends a message to China

Indian and Japanese warships on June 27 conducted exercises in the Indian Ocean, an activity described by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) as `promoting mutual understanding`.

Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, director general of India’s National Maritime Foundation, said the two countries’ navies `are not there for fighting purposes, but to send signals`.

India and Japan regularly conduct joint exercises and this is the 15th joint naval exercise in the past three years.

Japanese training ships (before) and Indian warships exercise on June 27.

On June 15, Indian and Chinese soldiers fought in the Galwan valley, in the Ladakh region in the Himalayas, along the disputed border between the two countries, killing 20 Indian soldiers.

The Ishigaki City Council in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture on June 22 passed a bill to change the name of the administrative management area of this island group Tonoshiro Senkaku.

The joint exercise between India and Japan is the latest sign of increasingly fierce geopolitical competition in the Indo-Pacific.

According to analysts, Beijing’s aggressive attitude in the East and South China Seas has pushed Tokyo and New Delhi closer.

Since then, the two countries have increased military cooperation, participating in events such as the land-based `Dharma Guardian` exercises, the air `Shinyu Maitr` exercises, or the `Malabar` naval exercises.

Prime Minister Abe and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi also meet regularly.

However, according to analyst C Uday Bhaskar, a former Indian naval officer, although New Delhi and Tokyo are both concerned about Beijing’s assertiveness, they are still `cautious in promoting their security relationship.`

`The two countries have a common vision of freedom of navigation, but it is still at the diplomatic-political level,` Bhaskar explained.

`This is not a signal to escalate the conflict. In fact, it is a reminder that using diplomatic channels to resolve the issue would be best for China and other countries,` he said.

Some analysts also say that the increase in activity in the Indo-Pacific region also shows the return of cooperation by the Quad, an informal strategic military group including the US and Japan.

Former ambassador Bhatia said that China’s increased aggression could make the Quad stronger.

`That’s why activity in the Indo-Pacific is just getting started. This will become the most important strategic region for the US, Japan, India and China in the next decade and beyond.

New Delhi is also said to be increasingly aware that the maritime sector is key to countering Beijing’s escalating actions.

“The maritime domain offers certain options to contain China’s increasingly aggressive strategies, whether in relations with India or any country in the Indo-Pacific region.