India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue- Relevance for UPSC Exam
- GS Paper 2: International Relations- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in News
- Recently, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh participated in the India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Tokyo.
- India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial meeting was the first 2+2 ministerial meeting after the inaugural dialogue was set up in 2019.
India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue
- Background: The first India-Japan talks in the 2+2 format were held between India and Japan in November 2019 in New Delhi.
- About: India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a format of meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of India and Japan on strategic and security issues.
- Objective: India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial meeting is aimed at creating a mechanism under which the bilateral relationship takes a decisive strategic turn with greater integration of defence, security and intelligence apparatus.
What is 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue?
- About: The 2+2 dialogue is a format of meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues.
- Importance: A 2+2 ministerial dialogue enables the partners to better understand and appreciate each other’s strategic concerns and sensitivities taking into account political factors on both sides.
- This results in a stronger, more integrated strategic relationship in a rapidly changing global environment.
- Partner Countries: India has 2+2 dialogues 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.
India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue-Joint Statement
- Rules-based global order: Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to a rules-based global order that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.
- They emphasized the need for all countries to seek peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law without resorting to threat or use of force or any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo.
- Free and open Indo-Pacific: The Ministers highlighted their commitment to a common strategic goal of achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific, that is inclusive and resilient,based on the rule of law and free from coercion.
- Support for ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP): Ministers also reiterated their strong support for ASEAN’s unity and centrality and their full support for the “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)”.
- AOIP upholds the principles such as the rule of law, openness, freedom, transparency and inclusiveness.
- Defence cooperation: Acknowledging Japan’s determination to reinforce its defence capabilities, Indian side expressed its supportto work towards enhanced security and defence cooperation.
- The Ministers welcomed the participation of Japan for the first time in the multilateral exercise MILAN.
- The Ministers expressed their commitment to continuing bilateral and multilateral exercises including “Dharma Guardian”, JIMEX and “Malabar.”
- The Ministers concurred to launch the Joint Service Staff Talks between the Japan Joint Staff and the Indian Integrated Defence Staff.
- The Ministers also committed to seek deeper cooperation on HA/DR and response to infectious diseases and pandemics.
Conclusion
- The Ministers welcomed that the 2+2 meetings, through intensive discussions, have provided a strategic guidance for enhancing the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, and decided to hold the next 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in India.
Strategic partnership between India and Japan
Analysis Of Sansad TV Discussion: ”Fourth Round Of India-US 2+2 Dialogue”