MUKHERJEE JAPAN VISIT TO BUILD ON EXCHANGES,

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 002867

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NOFORN
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2011
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR JA IN
SUBJECT: MUKHERJEE JAPAN VISIT TO BUILD ON EXCHANGES,
COOPERATION

Classified By: Pol MinCouns Mike Meserve for Reasons 1.4 b/d


1. (C) Summary. The May 25-28 visit of Indian Minister of
Defense Mukherjee to Tokyo will build on the momentum created
by the Global Partnership announced by PM Singh and PM
Koizumi in April 2005. The two defense ministers will
announce specific plans to increase the number of exchanges
between India's military and Japan's Self-Defense Forces,
expand cooperation in training, information sharing and
technical areas, and advance the scope of goodwill exercises.
Both sides will seek to institutionalize the enhanced ties
through regular high-level visits and staff-level exchanges,
seeking to develop an annual calendar of cooperation and
exchanges. A draft of the joint statement to be issued May
25 is at para 5, below. End Summary.


2. (C) Indian Minister of Defense Pranab Mukherjee is
scheduled to pay an official visit to Tokyo May 25-28 to
visit with, inter alia, Japan Defense Agency Minister of
State for Defense Fukushiro Nukaga. The visit stems from
agreements between PM Singh and PM Koizumi during the
latter's April 2005 visit to India, when Japan and India
agreed on an eight-fold initiative to reinforce their Global
Partnership. On May 24, JDA International Policy Planning
Division Principal Deputy Director Hidehiro Ikematsu briefed
Poloff on the visit, summarizing Japan's expectations by
stating that Nukaga and Mukherjee will agree to greatly
enhance dialogue and exchanges in the security and defense
fields between the two countries, based on shared strategic
objectives. Ikematsu noted that Japan has had only modest
activity with India over the years, and that the Mukherjee
visit will mark the beginning of taking the security
relationship a level higher. Ikematsu then shared the draft
joint statement to be released following the Nukaga-Mukherjee
ministerial talks on May 25. (Note: full text of draft
statement in para 5 below.)


3. (C) The most significant change to the relationship will
be in the increased volume and expanded scope of exchanges
and cooperation, Ikematsu explained. Japan and India will
establish regular exchanges at the leadership, policy and
joint staff levels, as well as service-to-service exchanges
aimed at capacity building. The ultimate goal is greater
cooperation in disaster relief, maritime security and other
areas of mutual interest. When asked, Ikematsu said concrete
proposals on specific capacity-building exercises have not
been considered yet. At India's urging, the two sides will
announce the promotion of cooperation in technical areas,
such as research and development. In that regard, Ikematsu
stressed that Japan has gone to great lengths to explain
constitutional and legal constraints on exporting or jointly
developing military technology. Both sides will also look
for opportunities to expand interactions with other nations
and multilateral fora, although Ikematsu admitted specifics
on implementing this idea will be left to future meetings.


4. (C) Poloff noted similarities between Japan's and
America's goals in cooperating on security issues with India,
and asked if JDA was considering any joint U.S.-Japan-India
exchanges or exercises. Ikematsu acknowledged the shared
interests, but said that as far as he knew trilateral options
would not be part of the Nukaga-Mukherjee talks. Ikematsu
said that outside of the intimate security relationship Japan
has with the United States, it does very little with other
countries, and noted that, outside of with the U.S., Japan
conducts joint military exercises only with South Korea and
Russia, and even those are limited. In the longer term,
Japan may seek trilateral exercises with an India or
Australia, he stated, but before engaging in such activities
it must carefully consider the implications it could have for

relations with neighbors, particularly China.


5. (SBU) Text of draft Joint Statement:

--1. H.E. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Defence of the
Republic of India, is currently paying an official visit to
Japan from May 25 to May 28, 2006 at the invitation of H.E.
Mr. Fukushiro Nukaga, Minister of State for Defense of Japan.
H.E. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee held in depth discussions in Tokyo
on May 25, 2006 with H.E. Mr. Fukushiro Nukaga. The
discussions covered bilateral, regional and international
issues of mutual interest, and focused in particular on
deepening the dialogue and cooperation between India and
Japan in the areas of security and defence cooperation.

--2. The two Ministers recalled that during the official
visit to India of H.E. Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, the Prime
Minister of Japan in April 2005, the two Prime Ministers had
decided to reinforce the strategic focus of the Global
Partnership between India and Japan and launched an
Eight-fold Initiative in order to realize its full potential.

--3. The two Ministers noted that the two countries are
partners in peace, with a deep interest in promoting the
security, stability and prosperity in Asia and in the world
at large as well as in tackling regional and global security
challenges. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to
implement fully the decisions taken by the Prime Ministers to
further develop the dialogue and exchanges between the two
countries in the security and defence fields, proceeding from
the broader perspective of the Global Partnership and
building on strategic convergences.

--4. The two Ministers discussed the emerging security
environment in Asia and at the global level that have
challenged both countries through new and emerging threats
including, inter alia: trans-national terrorism, violent
extremism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and
related materials, equipment, technologies and means of
delivery; and threat to maritime traffic. The two Ministers
recognized that in today,s era of globalization and
inter-dependence among nations, such new and non-traditional
threats affect the security of nations worldwide, including
India and Japan. They also exchanged views on traditional
security challenges of mutual concern and interest that have
a bearing on Asian and global security.

--5. Based on this understanding of the regional and
international security environment, the two Ministers
reaffirmed that both governments need to work closely
together to pursue common objectives through their individual
efforts, joint initiatives and cooperation in appropriate
regional and international fora as the two countries are
committed to democratic values, human rights, pluralism, open
society and the rule of law which provide the foundation of
their partnership. These objectives include, inter alia:

(i) Maintenance and promotion of peace and stability in
Asia and at the global level, creating an international
climate conducive to the continued economic growth and
development;
(ii) Promoting confidence building measures in Asia,
including promotion of transparency and frank exchange of
views among defence authorities;
(iii) Countering terrorism and violent extremism;
(iv) Preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction
and related materials, equipment, technologies and means of
delivery;
(v) Contributing to the safety and stability of regional
maritime traffic;

(vi) Promoting international cooperation in the areas of
disaster management and provision of relief operations;
(vii) Developing cooperative relationships with nations of
Asia and in the world; and
(viii) Promoting the development of various regional
cooperation mechanisms, in an open and inclusive manner.

--6. The two Ministers expressed their determination to
pursue co-operation, inter alia, in the following areas
related to defence and security:

(i) Leadership, policy officials and joint staff level
exchanges between the defence establishments to enhance
mutual understanding and to promote wide range cooperation in
the defence and security field;

(ii) Service-to-service exchanges including capacity
building between the defence establishments at various
levels, which may lead to cooperation in disaster relief,
maritime security or other areas of mutual interest;

(iii) Exchange of information, assessments, experiences and
lessons learned on a regular basis in tackling of regional
and global issues, including international terrorism,
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means
of delivery, disaster relief and peacekeeping operations, at
both the political and the operational level;

(iv) Promotion of cooperation in areas of training and
education;

(v) Promotion of cooperation in areas of strategic and
security studies;

(vi) Promotion of cooperation in technical areas; and

(vii) Expanding interaction and cooperation with other
nations to promote regional and global security, peace and
stability, including through closer collaboration in the
relevant regional and multilateral framework.

--7. With regard to the scope of cooperation identified
above, the two Ministers directed that the mechanisms of
implementation may include, inter alia, the following:
(i) Holding of meetings between the Defence Minister of
India and the Minister of State for Defense of Japan at
regular intervals, alternately in the two capitals or
elsewhere, also making use of opportunities at regional and
multilateral meetings;
(ii) Holding of a Defence Policy Dialogue at the Defence
Secretary/Administrative Vice Minister level from time to

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time, alternately in India and Japan;
(iii) Holding of regular Comprehensive Security Dialogue and
Military-to-Military Talks, alternately in India and Japan;
(iv) Regular exchange of visits at the Chiefs of Staff and
Joint Staff level and Staff level of each services.
(v) Exchange of ship visits between the Indian Navy and the
Japan Maritime Self Defence Force;
(vi) Holding of goodwill exercises between the Indian Navy
and the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force , with
progressively advanced content of future possible exercises
in areas of mutual interest;
(vii) Inviting officials of the other side to witness
designated military activities;
(viii) Mutual exchange of student officers (including
civilian officials) and researchers from defence
establishments for various courses (such courses may be
identified based on areas of interest of each country); and
(ix) Participating in security conferences and seminars
hosted by their defence establishments, and cooperating in

the relevant existing regional and multilateral fora.

--8. Both sides concurred that :-
(i) Areas of cooperation are not limited to those mentioned
above, and that they will endeavour to identify other areas
of cooperation relating to defence and security; and
(ii) They will also seek to develop an annual calendar of
cooperation and exchanges in advance.

--9. The two Ministers reiterated that all activities
under this Joint Statement will be conducted in accordance
with the relevant laws and regulations and national policies
of each country, their international commitments, and on the
basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit.

--10. H.E. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Defence of
India, thanked the Government of Japan for the courtesy and
hospitality extended to him and his delegation during the
visit to Japan. He extended a cordial invitation to H.E. Mr.
Fukushiro Nukaga, Minister of State for Defense of Japan, to
visit India. The invitation was accepted with appreciation.
The dates of the visit will be decided through diplomatic
channels.





( PRANAB MUKHERJEE ) (FUKUSHIRO NUKAGA)
Minister of Defence Minister of State
for Defense

Tokyo,
May 25, 2006.

End text.
SCHIEFFER