India and Japan signed a Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA) on Maritime Security Cooperation on 20 August 2026 in New Delhi, during bilateral talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi at the Manekshaw Centre. The pact creates a structured framework for closer cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) across information sharing, rescue and relief operations. It signals a fresh push in the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership to keep the Indo-Pacific free, open and rules based.
What Was Signed at the Defence Ministers’ Meeting?
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi co-chaired the India-Japan Defence Ministers’ Meeting at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on 20 August 2026. The centre, named after Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and inaugurated in 2010, is India’s premier venue for top level military dialogues. Both ministers were accorded a formal meeting and later held a joint signing ceremony where they exchanged signed copies of the pact and gifts.
The central outcome was the Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA) on Maritime Security Cooperation between the Ministry of Defence of India and the Ministry of Defense of Japan. A joint statement issued after the talks said the MoA provides a framework for further advancing cooperation in the field of maritime security. It builds on the Joint Statement issued during Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to India from 1 to 3 July 2026 for the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit, where both prime ministers had agreed to deepen defence ties as trusted partners sharing a strategic direction.
In his remarks, Koizumi recalled his earlier visit to India in August 2018, when he attended a Hiroshima Day memorial ceremony in the Lok Sabha on 6 August. He noted that India is probably the only parliament outside Japan that holds such a ceremony every year to honour victims of the 1945 atomic bombings, and said India holds a special place in his heart. He added that the security environment in the Indo-Pacific is becoming more complex and uncertain, and that defence cooperation remains indispensable to the partnership, but has not yet reached the level it should.
What the New Maritime Framework Will Do
The MoA is not a single project but a broad operating framework for the two navies. In simple terms, Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) means knowing what is happening at sea, where ships and submarines are, and spotting threats early by sharing information from radar, satellites and patrols. Search and Rescue (SAR) covers saving lives when ships or aircraft face accidents at sea, while Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) covers joint help after cyclones, tsunamis or other crises.
According to the joint statement, the MoA strengthens cooperation between the Indian Navy and the JMSDF in these specific areas:
| Area of Cooperation | What It Means in Practice |
|---|---|
| Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) | Regular sharing of assessments of the regional security environment and information about movements in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean |
| Search and Rescue and HADR | Coordinated rescue missions and joint relief work during natural disasters |
| Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) Protection | Joint effort to keep vital shipping routes safe for trade and energy flows |
| Operational Coordination | Mutual visits by naval ships and units, joint exercises, and exchanges of personnel and subject matter experts |
| Logistics and Maintenance | Use of each other’s ports and repair facilities, including progress toward a new ship repair arrangement |
| Naval Technology | Exploring joint development in naval shipbuilding and design and stronger mine countermeasure capabilities |
The two sides also agreed to leverage each other’s strengths in defence shipbuilding. Japan brings advanced technology and design expertise, while India offers large scale production capacity under the Make in India initiative. This division of strength is seen as a practical way to build ships faster and at lower cost.
Logistics cooperation is linked to the existing Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), also called the Agreement concerning Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services (RPSS), signed in September 2020 and operationalised during MILAN 2022. The new MoA expands that logic from supplies and fuel to port access, maintenance and repair.
India-Japan Defence Partnership: A Decade of Growing Trust
India and Japan share a Special Strategic and Global Partnership, a status they reached in 2014 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first annual summit with Japan. The partnership was first elevated to a Global Partnership in 2000 and then to a Strategic and Global Partnership in 2006. It builds on diplomatic ties that began with a separate Peace Treaty on 28 April 1952, after India chose not to attend the San Francisco Conference. Cultural links go back much further, including Indian monk Bodhisena’s consecration of the Great Buddha at Todaiji Temple in Nara in 752 AD, and later figures like Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and Justice Radha Binod Pal, whose dissent at the post war tribunal is still deeply respected in Japan.
Defence cooperation has gathered speed since 2014 through a series of institutional steps:
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Memorandum of Defence Cooperation and Exchanges signed |
| 2015 | Agreement on Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology and Agreement on Protection of Classified Military Information signed |
| 2018 | Implementing Arrangement for Deeper Cooperation between the Indian Navy and JMSDF signed |
| 2019 | First 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue held, a format where foreign and defence ministers of both countries meet together |
| 2020 | ACSA/RPSS signed for reciprocal provision of supplies and services |
| November 2024 | Memorandum of Implementation for UNICORN (Unified Complex Radio Antenna) masts signed, the first co-development of defence equipment between the two countries |
| July 2026 | Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation issued during the 16th Annual Summit |
Regular dialogue mechanisms keep the relationship active. These include the Defence Policy Dialogue at the Defence Secretary and Vice Minister level, whose 8th round was held in Tokyo on 13 July 2026, Joint Services Staff Talks, Army to Army Staff Talks (8th round in Tokyo in April 2026), and service to service staff talks among the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Joint exercises have become routine. Dharma Guardian is the bilateral army exercise focused on counter terrorism and jungle and urban operations, while JIMEX (Japan-India Maritime Exercise) is the bilateral naval exercise on surface warfare and anti submarine drills. Veer Guardian is the bilateral air exercise, whose next edition Veer Guardian 26 will see Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) fighter aircraft visit India for the first time. SHINYUU Maitri is another air force transport exercise, and Sahyog Kaijin brings together the two coast guards. Together with the United States and Australia, both countries also take part in the multilateral Malabar naval exercise, which Japan joined permanently in 2015, and the MILAN exercise hosted by India.
Beyond the Sea: Wider Defence Cooperation Agreed
The 20 August meeting went beyond the maritime pact and set a broader work plan. The joint statement recorded several concrete next steps, many of which respond to new technologies and joint manufacturing.
First, the ministers welcomed the steady expansion of bilateral exercises and agreed to raise their complexity, integrate unmanned systems, and hold exercises at short notice whenever opportunities arise. They also agreed to promote exchanges between their Special Operations Forces and to pursue cooperation with India’s integrated theatre commands after they are fully established. Theatre commands are new joint structures that bring Army, Navy and Air Force units under one commander for faster operations.
Second, on defence industry and technology, Rajnath Singh welcomed Japan’s recent review of its framework for transfer of defence equipment and technology. This review eases Japan’s long standing curbs on defence exports, which are guided by its Three Principles on Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology and its pacifist Constitution, particularly Article 9 which renounces war. Singh said he expects Japan to contribute more to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and to deepen the technology partnership.
A flagship item is the UNICORN integrated communications antenna system, a mast that houses multiple radio antennas in one compact structure for warships. It is the first defence equipment transfer project between the two countries, with a Memorandum of Implementation signed in November 2024. Both ministers affirmed commitment to its early realisation and agreed to advance discussions among the respective services on operational requirements for other projects.
Both sides also affirmed deeper defence research and development cooperation between DRDO and ATLA. DRDO is the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India, established in 1958 and headquartered in New Delhi, which develops military systems. ATLA is the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency of Japan, formed in 2015 under the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo to handle equipment procurement and technology. The ministers also confirmed their intention to convene a Defence Industry Forum to bring companies from both sides together.
Before reaching New Delhi, Koizumi visited Mumbai and toured the Western Naval Command and Indian Naval Ship Chennai, a Kolkata class guided missile destroyer, signalling interest in front line naval operations and ship visits.
On the margins of the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met Koizumi and highlighted co-development opportunities under Make in India, which was launched in 2014 to promote manufacturing and innovation within the country.
Why This Agreement Matters for the Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific stretches from the east coast of Africa to the western Pacific and carries more than 90 percent of global trade by sea. Both India and Japan depend heavily on safe passage through chokepoints like the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea for energy imports and exports. Any disruption to these Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) would raise costs for fuel, food and manufacturing across Asia.
The joint statement stressed two principles without naming any country. The ministers strongly opposed any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion and insisted on freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted in 1982 and in force since 1994. This language reflects shared concern about assertive military activity and pressure tactics in surrounding seas, even as both capitals avoid framing their partnership as aimed against any one power.
The agreement matters for three reasons. For security, better MDA and joint SAR and HADR mean faster detection of intrusions, piracy or accidents and quicker help during disasters, which are frequent in the Indian Ocean. For logistics, reciprocal port access and ship repair reduce the time warships must return home for maintenance, allowing longer presence at sea. For strategy, steady naval presence by two democracies that share values of rule of law and respect for sovereignty helps anchor a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), a vision first articulated by Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in his Confluence of Two Seas speech to the Indian Parliament in 2007, which aligns with India’s Act East Policy, SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine and Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) launched in 2019.
The partnership also works within wider groupings. Both countries are members of the Quad with the United States and Australia, which now coordinates on maritime awareness, disaster response and critical technology. The statement welcomed the first trilateral PASSEX (passing exercise) involving Japan, India and Indonesia in February 2026, and agreed to deepen cooperation with third countries through exchanges and exercises. The ministers also promoted the Indo-Pacific Logistics Network (IPLN), a mechanism to move personnel and supplies quickly to partner nations after natural disasters, whose second tabletop exercise is scheduled at Japan’s Ministry of Defense in September 2026.
The Way Forward
To ensure the MoA moves from paper to practice, the ministers agreed to set up a Working Group headed at the Director-General and Joint Secretary level. This group will coordinate work across operational, intelligence, equipment, technology and industrial domains while respecting each country’s policies. It will give overall direction to the cooperation agreed by the ministers, create links among different work streams and speed up execution.
Both sides also agreed to accelerate discussions to hold the Fourth 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo later in 2026. The 2+2 format brings together foreign and defence ministers from both sides and was last held in New Delhi in August 2024 at its third edition, which celebrated ten years of the Special Strategic and Global Partnership. Regular high level contact through the 2+2 and the Defence Policy Dialogue is intended to keep momentum before and after the leaders’ annual summits.
On the industrial side, early delivery of the UNICORN project, progress on a formal ship repair arrangement, and exploration of joint naval shipbuilding will be early tests of the new framework. Success would demonstrate that Japanese technology and Indian production can combine at scale. On the operational side, more complex exercises with unmanned systems, short notice drills, special forces exchanges and joint outreach to Southeast Asian partners will show whether maritime cooperation can respond quickly in a real crisis.
Koizumi’s own message captured the task ahead. He said defence ties have not yet reached the level they should, and that under the leadership of both prime ministers the two countries must quickly elevate them to where they need to be. The MoA gives them the mechanism to try.
Key Takeaways
- India and Japan signed a Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation on 20 August 2026 at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi between Rajnath Singh and Shinjiro Koizumi.
- The MoA provides a framework for cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) on Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), Search and Rescue (SAR) and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
- Both sides will strengthen coordination to protect Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) through naval ship visits, joint exercises, personnel exchanges and reciprocal port and ship repair facilities.
- The pact builds on the Special Strategic and Global Partnership (since 2014), the ACSA/RPSS of September 2020 operationalised at MILAN 2022, and the UNICORN mast Memorandum of Implementation of November 2024 as the first co-development project.
- Ministers agreed to set up a Director-General and Joint Secretary level Working Group and to accelerate talks for the Fourth 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo in 2026, alongside cooperation on DRDO-ATLA, a Defence Industry Forum, and the Indo-Pacific Logistics Network (IPLN) whose second tabletop exercise is in September 2026.
