India, Japan Agree To Hold 2+2 Meeting Early, Welcome Operationalisation Of Cross-servicing Agreement
New Delhi, March 20 : India and Japan agreed to hold the 2+2 meeting between their foreign and defence ministers at the earliest and welcomed operationalisation of the agreement on reciprocal provision of supplies and services between the armed forces of the two sides. The joint statement issued after talks between PM Modi and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida said the two leaders appreciated the significant progress made in security and defence cooperation and reaffirmed their desire to further deepen it. They welcomed the holding of the first 2+2 meeting of their Foreign and Defence Ministers in November 2019 in New Delhi and instructed their Ministers to hold the second meeting at the earliest opportunity in Tokyo. They also welcomed the operationalization of the Agreement Concerning Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services between the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Indian Armed Forces.
They reaffirmed the decision to proceed with coordination for the inaugural fighter exercise between the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and the Indian Air Force and welcomed the efforts to hold the exercise at the earliest. They acknowledged ongoing collaboration in the area of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) and Robotics and directed their Ministers to further identify concrete areas for future cooperation in the area of defence equipment. In September 2020, the two countries had inked an agreement on reciprocal provision of supplies and services between armed forces of the two countries. The Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) allows access to each other’s provision of supplies and services during the bilateral exercises and training, UN Peacekeeping Operations, and other Humanitarian activities.
The agreement also known as Mutual Logistics Services Pact, India already has with a few countries including the US, France, Australia. According to reports, with signing of the ACSA agreement, the Indian Navy would get access to the Japanese base in Djibouti and the Japanese will get access to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. On Quad, the joint statement said that with their commitment to promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, the Prime Ministers affirmed the importance of bilateral and plurilateral partnerships among like-minded countries of the region, including the quadrilateral cooperation among Australia, India, Japan, and the United States (the Quad). They welcomed the Quad Leaders’ Summits in March and September 2021 and renewed their commitment to delivering tangible outcomes on the Quad’s positive and constructive agenda, especially on COVID vaccines, critical and emerging technologies, climate action, infrastructure coordination, cybersecurity, space and education. They looked forward to advancing Quad cooperation through the next Quad Leaders’ Summit in Japan in the coming months.
With agency inputs
