TOKYO (Dispatches) -- Japan and India began their first joint fighter jet exercise on Monday near Tokyo as the countries upgrade defense and security ties with an eye on China’s growing military might.
The 11-day joint exercise will involve eight Japanese fighter jets, with India sending four fighters, two transport aircraft and an aerial refueling tanker, Japan’s defense ministry said.
Around 150 Indian Air Force personnel are taking part in the exercise at the Hyakuri Air Base in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.
The drill was agreed by the two countries during talks between Japanese and Indian defense and foreign ministers in 2019, but was delayed by the pandemic.
Japan and India -- along with Australia and the United States -- are part of the “Quad” alliance, a grouping of regional powers that seek to counter China’s military and economic influence.
Tokyo has held a string of joint military exercises in recent months, as well as been overhauling its defense and security strategy and explicitly flexing its muscles against China.
In December, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government committed to doubling defense spending to two percent of GDP by 2027, and dubbed China the “greatest strategic challenge ever” to Japan’s security.
Last week, Japan inked a new defense deal with Britain and agreed to expand its mutual defense treaty with Washington to attacks in space.
The Chinese embassy in India said the border situation with India was “overall stable” and both sides “have maintained smooth and constructive communications on boundary-related issues”.
The statement came from a spokesperson for the embassy after the US State Department of Defense said China “continues to amass forces and build military infrastructure along the LAC (line of actual control)”.
“The current China-India border situation is overall stable. The two sides have maintained smooth and constructive communication on boundary-related issues through diplomatic and military channels, and promoted the border situation to switch from the phase of emergency response to normalized management and control,” the statement from envoy Wang Xiaojian said.
The Pentagon’s allegations, against China in border issue were “without any factual basis”, it said, calling the U.S. “a third country pointing fingers”.
“The Chinese side is firmly opposed to such acts that a third country points fingers at the bilateral issue between the other two countries out of geopolitical consideration. The boundary question is a matter between China and India. The two sides have the will and capability of resolving the question through dialogue and consultation. We hope the U.S. could do more things that contribute to regional peace and stability,” it said.