India and Japan sign maritime security pact to deepen defence cooperation

Published Aug 21, 06:53 AM UTC

India and Japan signed a Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA) on Maritime Security Cooperation in New Delhi on August 20, 2026, between Defence Ministers Rajnath Singh and Shinjiro Koizumi. The pact aims to make maritime cooperation more structured, regular, and operationally useful. Key provisions include enhanced information sharing for Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), cooperation in Search and Rescue (SAR) and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), protection of Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs), mutual naval visits, joint exercises, personnel exchanges, and logistical support including port use and maintenance. The agreement also opens avenues for cooperation in mine countermeasures and joint naval shipbuilding, linking maritime security with defence industrial cooperation. The pact is set against heightened geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific and a shared opposition to unilateral actions that impede freedom of navigation.