Sixth Edition Of A Maritime Exercise Between India And Japan Is Over

The sixth Japan-India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX 22), which was hosted by the Indian Navy, came to an end on Saturday in the Bay of Bengal. The two countries said goodbye to each other with a traditional “steam past.”

JIMEX was a series of complex tactical drills in all areas of naval warfare, with the goal of making it easier for the two most important maritime forces in the Indo-Pacific to work together.

The JIMEX series of exercises began in January 2012, with a focus on how India and Japan can work together to improve maritime security. The last time JIMEX was held was in the Arabian Sea in October 2021.

A press release from the Indian Navy said, “Indian Naval ships led by Rear Admiral Sanjay Bhalla, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) Ships Izumo and Takanami led by Rear Adm Hirata Toshiyuki, Commander Escort Flota Four, took part in the week-long exercise.”

At JIMEX 22, the two navies did some of the most difficult exercises they have ever done together. Both sides did advanced anti-submarine warfare, fired weapons, and practised Air Defense. Helicopters, fighter planes, and submarines that were on ships also took part in the exercise.

Under the agreement on Reciprocal Provision for Supply and Services, Indian Navy and JMSDF ships resupplied each other at sea (RPSS). Through drills that covered the full range of maritime operations in the surface, subsurface, and air domains, the exercise was meant to help everyone understand operational procedures and work better together.

The Naval exercise was important from a strategic point of view because of the role of two countries in the Indo-Pacific region. These two countries, along with Australia and the US, make up the Quad.

“The Prime Ministers emphasised that India and Japan, as two leading powers in the Indo-Pacific region, had a shared interest in the safety and security of the maritime domain, freedom of navigation and overflight, unhindered legal commerce, and peaceful resolution of disputes with full respect for legal and diplomatic norms,” the statement said.

With their commitment to promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, the Prime Ministers reaffirmed the importance of bilateral and multilateral partnerships between like-minded countries in the region, such as the quadrilateral cooperation between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States (the Quad).

The exercise took place after India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar met with Japan’s Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada and Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo for the India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.