The expansion of military ties between the two countries comes during the visit of Union minister Arun Jaitley to Japan on his last trip as Defence Minister before he hands over the portfolio to his successor. Nirmala Sitharaman takes full-time charge of the Ministry tomorrow. While in Japan, Mr Jaitley visited a Japanese Navy base and 'flew' a Japanese P-1 aircraft simulator.
Japan, which participated in the Malabar Naval exercises with the US and India in the Bay of Bengal this year, wants to step up its level of engagement in these war games by sending across its state-of-the-art P-1 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, the most sophisticated of its class presently operated by its Navy.
Both India and China have been keeping a close eye on the dramatic growth of the Chinese Navy, which has inducted dozens of new warships and submarines over the last five years.
India is concerned about the increasing presence of Chinese nuclear submarines in the Indian Ocean while China lays claim to the Senkaku Islands, a group of uninhabited islands currently controlled by Japan in the East China Sea.
The deal for up to 18 US-2 aircraft, which can be used to monitor India's Exclusive Economic Zone in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, could be worth approximately $1.6 billion.
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