Analysing Veer Guardian 2023: India-Japan’s first Air Exercise

In 2008, there was the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation and this was followed by the 2009 Action Plan to advance Security Cooperation. Since 2019, the defence relations took to an all-new high when the first India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting took place on 30^th November 2019 and the aim was to work on security and defence cooperation[1]. It was during this meeting; the ministers had mentioned about the need to coordinate for the first Japan-India fighter aircraft exercise in Japan.

At present, the Veer Guardian 2023 is taking place at the Hyakuri Air Base in Japan since January 12 to 23, 2023 which is the first Indian Air force and Japanese Air force exercise. According to the Indian Ministry of Defence, they emphasised that this air force exercise aims at conducting the various aerial combat drills and work on multidomain air combat missions. Further, the Japanese side opined that this exercise aims at friendship between India and Japan and also work on greater defence cooperation. One must understand that this exercise is in sync with foreign and defence 2+2 dialogues which not only work on the lines of security and defence cooperation but also, aim to conduct bilateral and multilateral exercises based out of a multi-layered manner.[2] Further, it caters to the objectives of the Free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) which covers the basic interests of the Quad.

Many question the reason as to why this air force exercise is taking place? One must understand that the last exercise “Dharma Guardian” took place in 2022 and the armed forces exercise acted as a catalyst for many joint programs in the future and aimed at cross training, combat conditioning in field conditions, demonstrations at the firing ranges and tactical exercises. They also aimed at sharing experiences on exploiting the knowledge gained from disruptive technologies like drone and anti-drone weapons.[3] Similarly, JIMEX 2022 took place in the Bay of Bengal and that was a naval exercise which took place between the Indian and the Japanese naval forces. This naval exercise not only worked on maritime cooperation but also worked on interoperability.[4] Thereby, after several army exercises and naval exercises, it is justified to have an air force exercise and it is much needed as it is not only a vital part of the defence forces but also, it is important for the free and open Indo-Pacific strategy.

Another possible reason for this air force exercise is that Quad would like to strengthen its air capabilities and air assets in the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Japan is the pioneer of FOIP and being a seaborne nation, maritime security is essential. Chinese aggression and belligerence are another reason why there is a show of power, and this is vital for both India and Japan as both are facing issues from China in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Further, China has been violating Japan’s air space and this was evident in Japan’s Defence White Paper 2020, where the document opined “The Chinese Navy and Air Force have in recent years expanded and intensified their activities in the surrounding sea areas and airspace of Japan, and there are cases involving the one-sided escalation of activities”. Seeing the nefarious activities of China, Japan has realised that it needs to strengthen its defence forces and so, Japan on 16^th December 2022 launched its National Security Strategy (NSS) of Japan where it opined that ‘China to achieve its great dream of rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has been steadily increasing its defence expenditures and enhancing their nuclear and missile capabilities’. The NSS also suggested that ‘China had been making unilateral attempts to change the status quo through intrusions in the maritime domain and the airspace domain’ and this is not only affecting the South and the East China Sea but also the national security of Japan in the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean. China’s economic growth is also alarming as China is taking advantage of those countries which are dependent on them economically and all the money that China is making from economic growth is pumping it into growing their military might and this is another concern for Japan.

Another unsaid fear that Japan has that if China attacks Taiwan, then Japan could possibly be the next target. According to the Japanese NSS, China has been intensifying the military activities in the sea and airspace near Taiwan and has also been launching ballistic missiles into the waters all around Japan. One must also understand that the Hyakuri Air Base in the city of Tokyo and the possible possible reason for conducting this exercise in the middle of the Tokyo city is to make sure that it acts like a safety and security cover for Japan in case of an unforeseen event. The Hyakuri Air Base has great strategic value as in 2001, an aircraft from the Hyakuri was able to intercept the Tupolev Tu-22M bombers of the Russian Air Force when it had entered the Japanese airspace. In the present times, with the animosity that Japan shares with China and Russia, for its self defence Japan would like to do its best to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Ever since 1945, Japan has been a peace-loving nation and hasn’t fought any wars. Keeping in mind, the aggression by China, China’s close relations with Russia and North Korea’s increase in ballistic missile testing has made Japan worry about its self defence strategies and so, Japan has not only increased its defence budget, but has also brought in changes by reinforcing the Japanese Self Defence Forces to develop a fighter force structure that features short take-off and vertical landing fighter aircraft and also improve air operation capability particularly on the side of the Pacific Ocean where there are limited number of airbases and a vast airspace to manage.[5] India being Japan’s all weather friend is also helping Japanese forces out with training in order to help Japan itself in case of an unforeseen event.

Another possible reason for this air force exercise can that the United States of America may have prodded India to show some support to the US and Japan against Russia as India didn’t take any stance about the Ukraine-Russia crisis globally or in the United Nations and India continued its friendship with Russia despite the global powers anguish against Russia’s war declaration against Ukraine.

Though, there are many speculations behind this air force exercise, but one must understand that the friendship and bond that India and Japan share is that of an all-weather friend and their relationship will blossom even more in the coming years. Further, in order to have stronger defence relations between India and Japan could plan to have a joint tri services exercise in the Andaman and Nicobar islands so as to not only equip each other’s defence forces for unforeseen events but also, strength military to military engagement and also, India can portray the ‘Made in India’ arms and ammunitions which are available for defence export.

References

[1]Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan). Joint Statement First Japan-India 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting, 30 November 2019. https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000544338.pdf

[2]Press Bureau of India (PIB) Delhi. IAF and Japan Air Self Defence force set to exercise jointly in Japan, 7 January 2023. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1889366#:~:text=To%20promote%20Air%20Defence%20cooperation,2023%20to%2026%20January%202023

[3]Press Bureau of India (PIB) Delhi. Exercise Dharma Guardian-2022 Culminates at Belgaum (Karnataka), 10 March 2022. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1804800#:~:text=Ex%20DHARMA%20GUARDIAN%2D2022%2C%20an,unique%20opportunity%20of%20achieving%20synergy

[4]Press Bureau of India (PIB) Delhi. Japan-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise – Jimex 2022, 13 September 2022. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1858949

[5] Ministry of Defence (Japan). Defence of Japan 2022. https://www.mod.go.jp/en/publ/w_paper/wp2022/DOJ2022_EN_Full_02.pdf

Pic Courtsey-Michael Czyz at unsplash.com

(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)