Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Monday landed in Tokyo on a four-day official tour to cement bilateral ties with Japan for a free and open Indo-Pacific region, which China is trying to dominate.

Marshal Chaudhari will interact with officials of the Japan Air Self Defense Force(JASDF) to push bilateral interest, said the IAF. He held meetings with the Japanese Defence Minister and chief of staff, vice-chief of staff and other officers of the JASDF to discuss bilateral matters and “issues of mutual interest including avenues to strengthen defence cooperation,” tweeted the IAF.

Fixing dates for air exercise

It is learnt that finalising dates for the air exercise between the air forces of the nations may also come up during the Chaudhari’s high-level engagements. During Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s visit to India during March it was agreed that the exercise be held at the earliest, which would demonstrate a move to further deepen defence ties among New Delhi and Tokyo.

The last air exercise, which was also the inaugural one between the two nations, took place more than two years ago in October of 2019 in West Bengal. It was aimed to focus on joint mobility and tactical interoperability among the two air forces. Both the countries had appreciated collaboration in the area of unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) and robotics, apart from acknowledging the need to explore concrete areas for future cooperation in defence equipment and technology segments.

Air chief Marshal Chaudhary's visit is expected to be followed by 2+2 meeting of foreign and defence ministers of the two nations in Tokyo, the dates for which are yet to be announced.

Both the countries face a hostile China, which has prompted them to stretch their long-trusted friendly relations to secure their strategic interests and restore regional stability. In 2020, India and Japan had signed a landmark agreement to facilitate use of each other’s bases by their militaries for logistics support.

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