India and Japan have announced a series of agreements to strengthen cooperation in defense, economic security and maritime affairs following talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, in New Delhi on Thursday.
Speaking after the meeting, Modi said the two countries will work together on naval radio antenna systems and have adopted a joint roadmap on economic security. The leaders also agreed to expand cooperation in artificial intelligence, shipbuilding, biogas, semiconductors and other critical technologies.
"India and Japan view economic security as a shared security interest," Modi said.
Japan is one of India's largest foreign investors and has supported several major infrastructure projects, including the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail line. Around 1,400 Japanese companies operate in India, with nearly half of them engaged in manufacturing.
According to Indian government data, two-way trade between the two countries reached $27.5 billion during India's 2025-26 fiscal year. Japanese investment totaled $3.2 billion between April and December 2025.
Takaichi arrived in New Delhi for a three-day visit to attend the 16th annual India-Japan summit. Both countries are seeking to strengthen their partnership in the Indo-Pacific following Modi's visit to Tokyo last year, when Japan pledged to more than double its investment in India to over $61 billion during the next decade.
India and Japan are also members of the Quad, along with the United States and Australia. The grouping focuses on regional security, maritime cooperation and defense, and is widely seen as a counterbalance to China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Takaichi said New Delhi and Tokyo share a commitment to Japan's vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific based on freedom of navigation and respect for international law.
"Expansion of maritime security cooperation is especially important for regional peace and stability," she said.
Responding to the initiative, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Thursday that some countries spoke of "freedom and openness" while pursuing "confrontation and division."
He said such an approach went against the region's desire for peace, development and cooperation.
"Asia-Pacific needs stability, not turmoil; focus on cooperation, not division," Guo told a regular news briefing in Beijing.