Japan-India land combat training debuts in Japan for the first time Experts
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Japan-India land combat training debuts in Japan for the first time Experts: All-round cooperation against China
The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and the Indian Army began a half-month joint combat training on February 17. This is the first time that the two countries have conducted joint combat training in Japan. Experts believe that India is threatened by China based on the India-China border issue and must deepen security cooperation with members of the “Quad” (Quad). However, neither Japan nor India has changed its China policy.
China threatens Japan and India in the same pattern
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and the Indian Army will carry out a joint combat training called "Dharma Guardian" (Dharma Guardian) from February 17 to March 2. This is the first time that the two countries have conducted joint combat training in Japan.
Japan and India have previously conducted a series of joint exercises including the "Dharma Guardian" land military exercise, the "JIMEX" maritime military exercise and the "Malabar" (Malabar) maritime military exercise. Among them, the "Dharma Guardian" top 3 Both exercises were held in India.
Srikanth Kondapalli, an expert on China issues and dean of the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in India, said in an interview with Voice of America via email that with the rise of China, Chinese leaders have become more territorially ambitious. Its "core interests" have also begun to expand arbitrarily, and its aggression on the borders of other countries in the Indo-Pacific region has caused anxiety among countries, especially India and Japan.
Xie Gang pointed out that in recent years, the number of Chinese military crossings on the Senkaku Islands has exceeded 600 per year, and the number of military crossings on the India-China border has exceeded 400 times each year. In the past three years, China has fully mobilized To deal with India, it is currently trying to forcibly occupy the disputed land between India and China.
Xie Gang said that since the July 2016 ruling by the International Court of Arbitration on island sovereignty in the South China Sea, China has disregarded the rule of law and directly threatened the stability of the Indian Ocean and Pacific sea lanes. Nearly 70% of Japan's energy imports and about 55% of India's trade depend on transportation in the South China Sea. Therefore, although India and Japan will continue to maintain contact with China, China's sabotage behavior has caused India and Japan to be highly vigilant. Both sides have decided to strengthen all-round military exchanges and look forward to a higher strategic upgrade.
Xie Gang believes that recently, India is facing more and more serious external interference based on sovereignty, technology or non-traditional security. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has also brought greater uncertainty to the region where India is located. In order to fully respond to any security interference in the Indo-Pacific region, Japan and India are actively expanding comprehensive land, sea, and air joint exercises, hoping to increase each other's experience in interoperability, understanding, and prediction.
Satoru Nagao, a researcher at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington, said that long-term observation shows that China's territorial threats to Japan and India have simultaneously escalated. The number of Chinese coast guard ships entering the waters adjacent to the Senkaku Islands (called the Diaoyu Islands in China) increased sharply in 2012, then stabilized, and increased again in 2019. This is the same frequency and intensity as China’s invasion of the Sino-Indian border. This is the reason why Japan and India have decided to strengthen security cooperation in all aspects.
Ken Nagao told Voice of America: "Japan and India are facing the same problems, and in fact the United States is also the same. This is why the US-India joint exercises in the past focused on the sea, and now extend to the air force and army, and it is becoming more and more common. Japan and India have extended their past maritime and air cooperation to Japanese territory and land cooperation. It is also unavoidable to continue betting resources on the situation in the Taiwan Strait, and Quad will be able to achieve the strategy of dispersing China's resources."
India's sense of crisis deepens, and it actively conducts joint exercises to deepen cooperation with Quad
Regarding Japan and India’s recent efforts to strengthen joint exercises in various aspects, analysts believe that the main purpose is to counter China’s ever-expanding military threats in the Indo-Pacific region, which will change the Indo-Pacific strategy.
Ken Nagao, a researcher at the Hudson Institute in Washington, believes that Japan and India have recently actively promoted joint exercises, especially the "Heroic Guardian 23" in January this year and the "Dharma Guardian" military exercise in February. Between the dialogue (Quad), India, which is most threatened by China, has gradually realized the need to strengthen security cooperation with regional partners. He pointed out that an Indian minister said on February 15 that the border police force will be expanded in the next few years, which shows that the India-China border issue is a serious concern for India.
He said: "Among the four member states of the Quad, Japan, the United States and Australia do not border China. If China wants to attack each of the Quad member states one by one, it is not so easy to launch an attack from overseas. Compared with China Bordering India is the most likely target to be attacked by China first. In addition, Japan, the United States, the United States and Australia are allies that have signed formal treaties. They have a long history of cooperation and can be said to be monolithic. India is a new member in this group, and it is not the United States. Allies of China, if China were to disintegrate the Quads one at a time, the first target would naturally be India."
Nagao Ken said that because the cooperation between India and the United States is weaker than that of Japan, the United States, the United States and Australia, China believes that if it attacks India, the other three countries in the Quad may not come to help India. He pointed out that although China has been sending the message to India that "it is useless to support the Quad, and the United States, Japan and Australia will not assist India at critical moments", India obviously chooses to deepen security cooperation with the Quad, which will undoubtedly have a concrete impact on the Indo-Pacific strategy. Impact.
Zhang Jing, a senior researcher at Taiwan's Chinese Strategic Society, said in an interview with Voice of America that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Indian military have built a considerable degree of mutual understanding and specific experience through a number of military exchanges and joint military exercises. As far as military coordinated operations are concerned, both sides will indeed get positive bonus points. However, as for the first joint exercise in Japan, it may be difficult to have any specific impact on the essence of the Indo-Pacific strategy held by both Japan and India.
According to Zhang Jing, Japan has been using the Blue Book of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and publishing a document called 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' multiple times. They claim that it's a Japanese foreign policy strategy, but it's not clear what exactly it entails.
Prioritize military exchanges and coordinated operations with India. The Indian government has never put forward any policy statement on the Indo-Pacific strategic concept; therefore, it is obviously difficult for the joint military exercises of the two sides to specifically affect any basic stance of the Indo-Pacific strategy.”
Zhang Jing believes that in principle, such transnational joint military exercises are important achievements in military affairs and diplomacy, and because terrorist activities are regarded as a common enemy by the international community, so Japan and India’s joint military exercises aimed at countering terrorism will have a negative impact on the international image of the two countries. Naturally, there are bonus points. As far as playing the image card to gain international reputation, it is absolutely guaranteed to make money without losing money, but it does not mean that Japan or India's current foreign policies have significantly changed.
Joint exercises may be beneficial to familiarize yourself with each other's armaments
In this joint exercise, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force sent the 36th General Division Company stationed in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture to participate in the training, and the Indian Army sent anti-terrorism troops to participate. The training content set the city under attack street fighting, will deploy helicopter troops and training on the disposal of explosives. During the exercise, the Indian Army will operate the Tekken anti-tank rocket launcher of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, and take a Japanese unmanned reconnaissance vehicle to transport the wounded.
A month ago, Japan and India began their first joint fighter jet training at the Baili Air Force Base northeast of Tokyo on January 16. The Self-Defense Forces sent 4 F-2 and 4 F-15 multi-purpose fighters to participate, and India sent 4 Su-30MKI fighters, 2 C-17 transport aircraft, an IL-78 air tanker and about 50 personnel to participate. The Su-30MKI fighter will be equipped with the latest supersonic cruise missiles, which can reach inland China.
The Self-Defense Force statement stated that the purpose of the joint military exercise is to "strengthen defense cooperation among air forces and improve the tactical skills of the Self-Defense Forces." India said the exercise included training for air combat missions in various complex environments, and paved the way for improving the joint combat capabilities of the air forces of the two countries.
Analysts believe that the frequent and all-round joint exercises between Japan and India are conducive to mutual familiarity with Russian-made and American-made armaments.
Ken Nagao, a researcher at the Hudson Institute in Washington, said that taking the joint exercise between the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and the Indian Air Force in January as an example, India's fighter jets, like those of China and Russia, are Su-30 MKI fighters, which can indeed make Japan Training how to deal with Chinese and Russian fighters. On the other hand, the US-made fighters used by Japan can help India understand how to deal with attacks from Pakistan.
Then India and Japan's F-2 fighters will be able to obtain The specific experience of confronting Pakistan's F-16 fighter jets. In particular, India sent anti-terrorism troops to participate in the exercise this time. Pakistan has continued to try to weaken India's national strength with frequent terrorist attacks in recent years. Joint exercises with Japan's F-12 fighter jets are important to India. Absolutely of substantial significance.”
Xie Gang, dean of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that although Western countries have exported arms to Pakistan, and India has also imported armaments worth more than 60 billion U.S. dollars from Russia, any buyers and sellers understand that this The core technology of such systems must not be shared with others, including Japan, so the joint exercise has nothing to do with getting familiar with the important details of the two sides' armaments.
Xie Gang believes that India will not provide any information about the Su-30MKI fighter to Japan, so these joint exercises are aimed at enhancing interoperability. He pointed out that the armed forces of Japan and India are very professional, and the focus of the exercise is on planning scenarios to deal with the chaos in the region, not on armaments.
Zhang Jing, a senior researcher at Taiwan's Chinese Strategic Society, believes that although Japan and India are old partners in military exchanges, they may not be able to look forward optimistically through the recent joint exercises to improve their level and expand their space. He said: "Because the governments of Japan and India have not established an alliance combat system, nor do they have common military principles and standard operating procedures, this exercise should be able to learn from each other in low-level basic military combat skills and tactics.
But for the high-level staff plan and the strategic guidance of the military and political system, I am afraid that neither side has any specific significance." Zhang Jing said that even so, in the process of joint exercises, allowing the Indian military to get in touch with the equipment used by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces can provide limited marketing opportunities for the Japanese arms production system, and the exchange and seminars jointly held with the joint exercises can provide An opportunity for the two sides to enhance understanding, which also has indirect benefits for both Japan and India.
