Japan-India’s ‘symbolic’ drills complicate China’s calculus for Indo-Pacific, analysts say

Analysts say the Japan-India air drills are mostly ‘symbolic’ but send an ‘important deterrence message to China and North Korea’

The drill is likely ‘an opportunity for both’ countries to evaluate the limitations and potential for military cooperation, say experts

4-MIN READ4-MIN

Japan Air Self-Defence Force members greet Indian Air Force personnel at the ASDF’s Hyakuri Air Base in Omitama, Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan, on January 10. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 6:44pm, 20 Jan 2023Updated: 7:09pm, 20 Jan 2023

Joint air combat drills between Japan and India are largely symbolic but carry a message of deterrence to China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific, analysts say, as nations develop new military alliances that Beijing will have to game into its strategy for the region.

The maiden Veer Guardian exercises are being held at an airbase in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo until next Thursday, with four F-2 and four F-15 fighters taking part, Japan’s Defence Ministry said.

It is the first one-on-one training of its kind, the ministry added, although Japan and India have conducted joint maritime exercises since 2012 and army training since 2018.

Indian Air Force fighter aircraft at Japan’s Air Self-Defence Force Hyakuri Air Base for the Japan-India joint exercise. Four F-2 and four F-15 fighters taking part. Photo: AFP

“The more the status-quo militaries hold exercises, the safer the Indo-Pacific is,” said Masafumi Iida, a security studies fellow at the National Institute for Defense Studies in Japan.

The term Indo-Pacific, promoted by the US and adopted by its strategic partners, has been used to reflect the importance of India – along with Australia and Japan – in Washington’s strategy to deal with China’s assertiveness in the Pacific and tensions on the Taiwan Strait.

China considers Taiwan a breakaway region that should be reunited with the mainland and tensions have soared over recent months, with concern over the potential for conflict further stoked by China’s regular large scale military exercises near the island.

Veer Guardian “is the first step to higher levels of drills and exercises between both the air forces in the coming years”, Iida said, adding that it is “indispensable” for “status-quo countries” to jointly strengthen deterrence so as to keep the regional peace.