India and Japan on Thursday welcomed the steady strengthening of bilateral defence cooperation, including engagement between their respective ministries and services, based on shared strategic perspectives under the 'Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership' which constitutes one of the pillars for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific

In a joint statement issued after the Japan-India Defence Ministers’ Meeting between Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, in New Delhi, the two sides stressed the importance of sharing assessments of the regional and international security environment amid heightened global tensions

They also expressed their strong opposition to any unilateral actions that impede freedom and safety of navigation and overflight, as well as to any attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion

Recalling the Japan-India Joint Statement issued in July 2026, both Singh and Koizumi affirmed their commitment, under their leadership, to further deepen defence cooperation to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific

Earlier in the day, Koizumi inspected the ceremonial Guard of Honour at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Koizumi, who is on a visit to India, also laid a wreath at the National War Memorial and paid tribute to the fallen soldiers

Singh and Koizumi with Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani, Chief of Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh during the Guard of Honour, in New Delhi