India-Japan ‘2+2’ Dialogue

What is India’s ‘2+2’ Dialogue?

• 2+2 Dialogue is a format of meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues.
• Significance of 2+2 Dialogue: It enables the partners to better understand and appreciate each other’s strategic concerns and sensitivities taking into account political factors on both sides, in order to build a stronger, more integrated strategic relationship in a rapidly changing global environment.
  • Over the years, the 2+2 Dialogue format has produced tangible and far-reaching results for India.
  • For example, India and the US have signed a troika of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation, after the first 2+2 Dialogue in 2018.
• Partners: India has 2+2 Dialogue with four key strategic partners: the US, Australia, Japan, and Russia. Besides Russia, the other three countries are also India’s partners in the Quad.
  • The inaugural 2+2 Dialogue with USA was held in September 2018.
  • India held its first 2+2 Dialogue with Japan in November 2019.
  • First 2+2 Dialogue between India and Australia was held in September 2021.
  • 1^st edition of 2+2 Dialogue with Russia was held in December 2021.

Key Points of Discussion in the 2^nd India –Japan 2+2 Dialogue

• Commitment for global cooperation: Both the countries reaffirmed their commitment to a rules-based global order that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.
• Regional and international affairs:
  • The Ministers highlighted their commitment to a common strategic goal of achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific.
  • They reiterated their strong support for “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)”.
    • ASEAN member nations have adopted the AOIP in June 2019.
    • AOIP envisages ASEAN Centrality as the underlying principle for promoting the Indo-Pacific cooperation, with ASEAN-led mechanisms, such as the East Asia Summit (EAS).
• Bilateral cooperation: The ministers welcomed progress and deepened cooperation through
  • India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership of November 2019.
  • The Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Dialogue of February 2021,
  • The Maritime Affairs Dialogue of September 2021,
  • The Space Dialogue of November 2021, and
  • The Cyber Dialogue of June 2022.

• Defence Cooperation:
  • The Ministers welcomed the participation of Japan for the first time in the multilateral exercise MILAN. Indian Navy’s largest multilateral exercise Milan 2022 was conducted in March, 2022. This exercise started with the participation of four countries, – Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand – in 1995.
  • The Ministers expressed their commitment to continuing bilateral and multilateral exercises including “Dharma Guardian”, JIMEX and “Malabar.”
    • Dharma Guardian is an annual exercise between the armies of India and Japan.
    • JIMEX is an annual bilateral maritime exercise between India and Japan.
    • Malabar is an annual naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners.
• Maritime cooperation: Acknowledging the potential of the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region, the Ministers looked forward to actively deepening multilateral coordination with liaison officers of other countries in the forum for enhanced maritime cooperation.
  • The Indian Navy established the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in 2018 to effectively keep track of the shipping traffic as well as other critical developments in the region under a collaborative framework with like-minded countries.

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