Rajnath Singh, Japan’s Gen Nakatani to Hold Key Defence Talks on strategic cooperation

By A Staff Reporter

Delhi: In a solemn tribute to India’s fallen soldiers, Japan’s Defence Minister Gen Nakatani laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in New Delhi on Monday morning, marking the start of a significant diplomatic and defence engagement with India.

The ceremonial gesture comes ahead of a scheduled high-level meeting between Gen Nakatani and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh later today. The talks are expected to cover a wide spectrum of defence cooperation, regional security challenges, and strategic convergence between the two Indo-Pacific powers.

The timing of the visit is particularly important, as it comes in the wake of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives. It also coincides with growing global unease over China’s assertive posturing in the South China Sea.

Sources suggest that the defence dialogue will address joint military exercises, defence technology collaboration, and maritime security coordination, especially in the Indian Ocean and Pacific regions. Both countries are expected to reaffirm their commitment to a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific, amid shared concerns about regional stability.

India and Japan, bound by a “Special Strategic and Global Partnership,” have steadily deepened their defence ties over the past decade, including regular 2+2 ministerial meetings and trilateral engagements with allies such as the United States.