The news came as the two nations met for their second India-Japan 2+2 Dialogue to cover foreign policy issues and security. The2+2 consultations are mandated to take place at the senior official level every year, as part of the Action Plan to Advance Security Cooperation between the two that was inked as December 2009. The last 2+2 Dialogue was held at New Delhi in June 2010, with last year’s canceled due to scheduling conflicts.
The two countries “reviewed bilateral security and defense cooperation and discussed ways of further expanding such ties,” said the Indian External Affairs Ministry, in a statement. The two sides briefed the other on their respective defense and security policies in the background of each country’s security environment, the statement said, adding they also discussed regional and international security situations.
Japan has a similar consultation with the US—the two have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote increased cooperation and exchange of information on cybersecurity between the two governments through the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), according to an announcement by the Department of Homeland Security.
However, this is India’s first 2+2security dialogue with any country—an indication of that country’s increasing awareness of the online threat landscape.
The meeting comes ahead of Indian’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan in November. The Indian delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and Defense Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, while Japan sent Deputy Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki and Administrative Vice Defense Minister Hironori Kanazawa.