Jaishankar Frames India-Japan Pact as Stable Anchor in An Unstable Indo-Pacific
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday described the India-Japan partnership as a “strategic and stabilising force” in the Indo-Pacific. He warned that the region faces an increasingly complex challenge in maintaining openness and order.
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| File Photo: EAM Jaishankar |
Against this backdrop, he said, the India-Japan compact has gained “greater value than ever before” -- both in anchoring regional security and driving global economic resilience.
The forum, jointly hosted by the Delhi Policy Group and the Japan Institute of International Affairs, comes months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s August visit to Tokyo, where both sides unveiled a ten-year roadmap with eight priority pillars and a targeted Japanese investment of 10 trillion yen.
Jaishankar cited this framework as proof that the relationship is “responding to the changing global scenario” with clarity and ambition.
He also referenced the joint declaration on security cooperation as a new high-water mark in bilateral defence engagement, signalling deeper convergence on maritime security, emerging domains, and strategic infrastructure.
Addressing the 8th India-Japan Indo-Pacific Forum.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) November 5, 2025
🇮🇳 🇯🇵 @DPG_ORG @JIIA_eng
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As Japan co-leads the Maritime Trade and Connectivity pillar of the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, Jaishankar said both countries share “larger responsibilities” as democratic maritime powers.
He flagged key agreements on clean hydrogen, critical minerals, mobility, and economic security as examples of a forward-looking agenda designed to build both supply chain resilience and technological leadership.
Calling for closer people-to-people ties through new human resource exchange frameworks, Jaishankar underscored the need to deepen societal understanding between the two countries.
He also confirmed a recent meeting with his new Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi on the margins of the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, where both agreed to hold an in-depth bilateral review in the near future.
India and Japan, he stressed, are co-architects of the Indo-Pacific’s evolving balance.