The stage is set for the India-Japan 2+2 Dialogue next month when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister S Jaishankar will travel to Tokyo.

When the two ministers meet their Japanese counterparts, Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada and Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, on September 8, 2022, the focus of the talks is expected to further strategic cooperation in critical areas including joint exercises as well as joint development of different military platforms. 

The visit of Singh and Jaishankar will be ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tokyo to attend the state funeral of his close friend Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the two countries was expected to take place earlier this year in April, however the meeting is now next month where the two sides will not only review the bilateral cooperation in various fields of defence but also discuss future cooperation between the two countries in emerging technologies, and development of military hardware.

The visit comes after the recent Leaders Summit of the QUAD leaders in Tokyo, and the two ministers are expected to discuss not only regional but global issues of mutual interest. They will also talk about the ongoing tensions between China and Taiwan, Chinese bullying tactics in South and East China Sea as well its belligerence along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

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 Financial Express Online has reported about the operationalisation of a key agreement related to the reciprocal provision of supplies and services between the armed forces of both countries. Both sides will discuss ways of further building on the existing agreement. In September 2020 Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and India’s armed forces had inked the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA).

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The first 2+2 Ministerial between India and Japan was held in New Delhi in November 2019.

Which are the other countries?

India has this mechanism of 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue with a handful of countries like the US, Russia, Austral and Japan. Except for Russia, the other countries are members of the QUAD.