Op-ed: India-Japan defence ties move from dialogue to shipbuilding and joint drills
For years India and Japan agreed on the Indo-Pacific but built little together. Is that finally changing?
Published 9 September 2026. Written by Pratidin from the reports linked at the end; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work
An article on The Hindu's editorial page on 9 September 2026 argues that India-Japan defence cooperation has broken new ground after Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi's visit to India in August 2026. It lists the outcomes: closer information sharing for maritime domain awareness (a shared picture of ships and activity at sea), an agreement to explore joint design and building of naval ships that would pair Japanese marine engineering with Indian shipyard capacity, reciprocal access to ship repair facilities, and early implementation of the UNICORN (Unified Complex Radio Antenna) mast project with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The article also points to deeper links between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Japan's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA).
The same day, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) began Exercise Veer Guardian-2026 at Air Force Station Jodhpur in Rajasthan, running from 9 to 22 September. The IAF is flying the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, the Su-30 MKI and the Rafale; the JASDF has brought F-2A fighters. The 14-day exercise covers air combat manoeuvring, mission planning and tactical coordination. The first edition of Veer Guardian was held in Japan in 2023, and reports describe this as the first time JASDF fighter jets have come to India for the bilateral exercise. The armies hold Dharma Guardian and the navies JAIMEX.
The two countries have a Special Strategic and Global Partnership, agreed in 2014, a foreign and defence ministers' 2+2 dialogue, and an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement for mutual supply and services between their forces. The article's argument is that defence cooperation long lagged behind this political convergence on a free and open Indo-Pacific. Commentators note the obstacles: earlier defence deals, such as the proposed purchase of Japan's US-2 amphibious aircraft, stalled, with price, local production and technology sharing as recurring sticking points; Article 9 of Japan's Constitution limits co-development of lethal weapons; and the two procurement systems work differently. Whether the new projects move from agreement to delivery is the test.
Prelims facts
- Exercise Veer Guardian-2026 between the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force is being held at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 9 to 22 September 2026; the first edition was held in Japan in 2023.
- India fields Tejas, Su-30 MKI and Rafale aircraft in the exercise, and Japan fields F-2A fighters.
- India-Japan exercises: Dharma Guardian (armies), JAIMEX (navies) and Veer Guardian (air forces).
- UNICORN (Unified Complex Radio Antenna) is a stealthy integrated mast that houses several communication antennas in one structure; India and Japan are pursuing it with Bharat Electronics Limited.
- India and Japan upgraded ties to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014 and have an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement between their forces.
Quick recall
- Where and when is Exercise Veer Guardian-2026 being held?
- Air Force Station Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 9 to 22 September 2026.
- Which Japanese fighter is taking part in Veer Guardian-2026?
- The F-2A of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
- Where was the first Veer Guardian held?
- In Japan, in 2023.
- What is Dharma Guardian?
- The India-Japan army exercise (Indian Army and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force).
- What does UNICORN stand for?
- Unified Complex Radio Antenna, an integrated stealthy mast.
- Which Indian company is the partner for UNICORN?
- Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
- In which year did India and Japan adopt the Special Strategic and Global Partnership?
- 2014.
- What is Japan's counterpart agency to DRDO named in the article?
- The Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA).
Prelims practice question
Consider the following pairs:
Exercise : Participants
1. Dharma Guardian : Indian Army and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
2. Veer Guardian : Indian Air Force and Japan Air Self-Defense Force
3. JAIMEX : Indian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
- Only one
- Only two
- All three
- None
Show answer
Answer: (c) All three. All three pairs are correct. Dharma Guardian is the army exercise, Veer Guardian the air force exercise (its 2026 edition is at Jodhpur from 9 to 22 September) and JAIMEX the naval exercise between India and Japan.
Use this in UPSC Mains: previous-year questions
Recurring theme: India's defence partnerships in the Indo-Pacific
- How to use this
Use India-Japan maritime domain awareness sharing as a bilateral example of the information-sharing that IPMDA seeks to build across the Indo-Pacific.
- After Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi's August 2026 visit, India and Japan agreed on closer information sharing for maritime domain awareness, a shared picture of ships and activity at sea.
- This MDA cooperation spans the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific, showing how India links its regional maritime role with partners sharing a free and open Indo-Pacific vision.
- Add a critical note: argue that India-Japan defence cooperation long lagged political convergence, and that the test is whether the new projects move from agreement to delivery.
- How to use this
Use India-Japan ties to show that security cooperation among Indo-Pacific partners is deepening bilaterally, which tempers the claim of a shift away from military cooperation.
- Exercise Veer Guardian-2026 at Air Force Station Jodhpur (9 to 22 September) is reportedly the first time JASDF fighters have come to India for it, flying F-2As alongside IAF Tejas, Su-30 MKI and Rafale.
- India and Japan now hold exercises across all three services: Dharma Guardian (armies), JAIMEX (navies) and Veer Guardian (air forces), backed by a 2+2 dialogue and an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement.
- Defence-industrial links are growing too: joint naval shipbuilding is being explored and the UNICORN integrated mast is being pursued with Bharat Electronics Limited.
- How to use this
Use Japan as an emerging third source of defence technology to argue that India diversifies partners while guarding strategic autonomy between the US and Russia.
- India and Japan are pursuing the UNICORN (Unified Complex Radio Antenna) stealthy integrated mast with Bharat Electronics Limited, and DRDO is deepening links with Japan's ATLA.
- India's strategic autonomy and ties with Russia sit uneasily with Japan's alliance with the United States, a tension India must manage as it adds partners for Indo-Pacific stability.
- Caution on delivery: the proposed purchase of Japan's US-2 amphibious aircraft stalled over price, local production and technology sharing, and Article 9 of Japan's Constitution limits co-development of lethal weapons.
Mains practice question
India-Japan defence cooperation has long lagged behind their political convergence on the Indo-Pacific. Examine whether recent initiatives mark a shift towards an operational partnership, and identify the obstacles that remain. (250 words)
Model answer
India and Japan share a Special Strategic and Global Partnership (2014) and a common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Yet, as a recent article on The Hindu's editorial page argues, practical defence cooperation trailed diplomacy until recently.
Signs of an operational turn
- Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi's August 2026 visit produced agreements to explore joint naval shipbuilding and reciprocal ship repair.
- Early implementation of the UNICORN integrated mast with Bharat Electronics Limited, a rare Japanese defence technology transfer.
- Closer maritime domain awareness sharing across the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific.
- DRDO and Japan's ATLA deepening co-development.
- Exercise Veer Guardian-2026 (Jodhpur, 9 to 22 September) brings JASDF F-2A fighters to India alongside Tejas, Su-30 MKI and Rafale.
- Existing enablers: the 2+2 ministerial dialogue and the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement.
Obstacles
- Past deals such as the US-2 amphibious aircraft stalled; disputes over price, local production and technology sharing recur.
- Article 9 of Japan's Constitution and its export rules limit work on lethal weapons.
- Different procurement and industrial standards slow joint production.
- India's strategic autonomy and ties with Russia sit uneasily with Japan's alliance with the United States.
Way forward
- Deliver UNICORN integration and a first joint ship-repair contract as proof of concept.
- Co-fund unmanned maritime surveillance systems.
- Use the 2+2 to set a time-bound roadmap for co-development.
India-Japan ties will become a true defence partnership only when agreements turn into hardware and routine joint operations.
The basics
Why this matters
Japan is one of India's closest partners in the Indo-Pacific, a major investor and a fellow member of the Quad. But defence ties need more than shared statements: they need equipment built together, forces that can work together and information that flows between them. An article in The Hindu on 9 September 2026 argues that this shift has begun.
Building blocks of the relationship
The relationship rests on a political framework, the Special Strategic and Global Partnership, and on practical agreements that let the two militaries support each other.
- 2006Joint statement towards a Strategic and Global Partnership
- 2014Ties upgraded to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership
- 2020Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement signed
- 2023First Veer Guardian air exercise, held in Japan
- August 2026Defence Minister Koizumi's visit: shipbuilding, ship repair, UNICORN
- September 2026Veer Guardian-2026 at Jodhpur, 9 to 22 September
What the new cooperation covers
The article describes cooperation along several lines at once. One of them, the UNICORN integrated mast, is notable because Japan has only recently loosened its rules on defence exports, a legacy of Japan's Article 9 and defence exports.
- 1Joint naval shipbuildingJapanese marine engineering with Indian shipyard capacity
- 2Reciprocal ship repairEach side's warships can be repaired in the other's yards
- 3UNICORN mastStealthy integrated antenna mast, with Bharat Electronics Limited
- 4Maritime domain awarenessSharing the picture of activity at sea
- 5DRDO and ATLAJoint research and co-development
- 6ExercisesVeer Guardian, Dharma Guardian and JAIMEX
The exercise in Jodhpur
The India-Japan military exercises now cover all three services. Veer Guardian-2026 brings Japan's F-2A fighters to Jodhpur to fly with Indian Tejas, Su-30 MKI and Rafale jets.
- Light Combat Aircraft Tejas
- Su-30 MKI
- Rafale
- F-2A fighters
- Deployed to Air Force Station Jodhpur
The test ahead
Past efforts, such as India's proposed purchase of Japan's US-2 amphibious aircraft, stalled. The real measure of this phase will be ships repaired, masts fitted and systems built together.
Go deeper
In one line: An article in The Hindu argues that India-Japan defence ties are moving from dialogue to real projects, as Japanese fighters join the Indian Air Force at Jodhpur for Exercise Veer Guardian-2026.
Why it matters for UPSC
India-Japan relations are a standard GS2 topic (bilateral relations, Quad, Indo-Pacific), while exercises and defence technology feature in GS3 and Prelims. Expect questions on exercise names, the partnership's milestones and the limits on Japan's defence exports.
The core idea
The Special Strategic and Global Partnership gave India and Japan a shared political vision. Defence cooperation lagged because of Japan's pacifist constitution and cautious export rules, explained in Japan's Article 9 and defence exports, and because early deals stalled. The new agenda includes joint shipbuilding, ship repair, the UNICORN integrated mast and a fuller set of India-Japan military exercises.
Numbers and dates to remember
- 9 to 22 September 2026: Veer Guardian-2026 at Air Force Station Jodhpur (14 days).
- 2023: first Veer Guardian, held in Japan.
- August 2026: Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi's visit to India.
- 2014: Special Strategic and Global Partnership.
- 2020: Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement.
Where to go next
- Special Strategic and Global Partnership: the political frame of the relationship.
- Japan's Article 9 and defence exports: why Japan was slow to share weapons technology.
- UNICORN integrated mast: the stealthy antenna system at the centre of the new deals.
- India-Japan military exercises: Dharma Guardian, JAIMEX and Veer Guardian.
Go deeper: convergence without integration?
The optimistic reading is that India and Japan have found the missing link between strategy and hardware. The UNICORN integrated mast is described as Japan's first major defence equipment transfer to India. Joint shipbuilding would give Indian yards Japanese design know-how, and reciprocal ship repair would let Japanese warships be serviced in the Indian Ocean. Maritime domain awareness sharing would link the Indian Ocean with the Western Pacific. Exercises across all three services, now including India-Japan military exercises such as Veer Guardian in India, build familiarity between the forces.
The sceptical reading points to history. The US-2 amphibious aircraft deal was discussed for years and did not close. Japan's Article 9 and defence exports still shape what Tokyo can sell or co-develop, especially lethal systems. Indian procurement is slow and favours local production; Japanese firms are cautious about technology leakage and small orders.
There is also a strategic difference. Japan is a treaty ally of the United States, while India guards its strategic autonomy and keeps defence ties with Russia. The Special Strategic and Global Partnership works because it does not require alliance-like commitments; that same looseness can slow defence integration. The balanced view: the direction is right, but credibility will come from delivered projects, not new memoranda.
Special Strategic and Global Partnership
The political frame of the relationship.
In one line: The Special Strategic and Global Partnership is the label India and Japan gave their relationship in 2014, raising it from the Strategic and Global Partnership of 2006.
What it covers
The partnership spans annual summits, economic ties, infrastructure such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project, and security. Its defence side includes a 2+2 dialogue of foreign and defence ministers, an agreement on transfer of defence equipment and technology (2015), and the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (2020), which lets the forces supply each other with fuel, food and services.
Why it is in the news
The article on The Hindu's editorial page argues that the partnership's political agreement on a free and open Indo-Pacific has run ahead of defence cooperation, and that the August 2026 visit of Japan's Defence Minister is narrowing that gap.
Where to go next
- India-Japan military exercises
- Japan's Article 9 and defence exports
Japan's Article 9 and defence exports
Why Japan was slow to share weapons technology.
In one line: Article 9 of Japan's post-war Constitution renounces war as a sovereign right, and for decades Japan followed strict rules that all but banned arms exports.
From ban to cautious opening
Japan's forces are called Self-Defense Forces because of Article 9. Its export policy long kept defence equipment out of foreign hands. In 2014 Japan replaced the old export principles with the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, allowing transfers under conditions, and it has revised these rules since.
Why it matters for India
These limits explain why joint projects with India moved slowly and why co-development of lethal weapons remains difficult. Transfers of systems such as the UNICORN antenna mast, which is not itself a weapon, are easier to approve.
Where to go next
UNICORN integrated mast
The stealthy antenna system at the centre of the new deals.
In one line: UNICORN (Unified Complex Radio Antenna) is a Japanese integrated mast that houses several communication antennas inside a single enclosed structure.
How it helps a warship
A traditional warship mast carries many separate antennas, each of which reflects radar signals. Enclosing them in one composite structure reduces the ship's radar cross-section, making it harder to detect.
India's interest
A November 2024 understanding between the two sides on UNICORN involves Bharat Electronics Limited as the Indian partner, and the August 2026 talks fast-tracked the project. Commentators describe it as Japan's first major defence equipment transfer to India.
Where to go next
- Japan's Article 9 and defence exports
- India-Japan military exercises
India-Japan military exercises
Dharma Guardian, JAIMEX and Veer Guardian.
In one line: India and Japan now hold regular bilateral exercises across all three services.
The three exercises
- Dharma Guardian: the Indian Army and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, focused on counter-terrorism and tactical operations.
- JAIMEX: the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, focused on maritime security and anti-submarine warfare.
- Veer Guardian: the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. The first edition was held in Japan in 2023; the 2026 edition is at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 9 to 22 September, with Tejas, Su-30 MKI and Rafale on the Indian side and F-2A fighters from Japan.
Why exercises matter
Exercises build interoperability: common procedures, communications and trust. They are the practical side of the political partnership.
Where to go next
Take the 9 September 2026 quiz: 30 Prelims-style questions with answers