India-Japan alter balance of power in the Indo-Pacific

The strategic calculus in the Indo-Pacific is rapidly shifting as Japan shifts its defence policy away from being a pacifist state and India emerges as a pivotal security partner. India and Japan grow in cohesion and this expanding Special Strategic and Global Partnership is causing a change that expansionist states and states exporting terror to the world, cannot afford to ignore.

Rise of the India-Japan league

Japan-India ties have evolved over two decades as one of the most prominent partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region.

Post WWII, Japan was mandated to adopt strict pacifism prohibiting it from maintaining military forces with war potential.

But with the rise of China in the last two decades and rapid increase in regional threats, Japan has been pushing for a more hawkish defense posture and tied up closely with India.

Viewing India as an economic and defence partner, the countries adopted closer collaboration on maritime security, intelligence sharing with joint exercises, aimed at ensuring the safety of the Indo-Pacific.

The Tokyo Declaration for India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership of September 2014 and the Memorandum of Defence Cooperation and Exchanges, has provided significant impetus to the defence cooperation.

These efforts also aligned with India’s interest in strengthening its defence relationships and reducing its dependence on traditional partners. The purposeful collaboration very effectively counterbalances China’s growing regional influence, placing India at the cornerstone of Japan's Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy.

Pakistan's mounting fears

Japan and India associate closely for India's civil nuclear program with Japanese firms supplying nuclear materials and cutting-edge reactor technologies to India. The India-Japan Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy entered into force on July 20, 2017. The agreement paved the way for enhanced cooperation in energy security and clean energy.

Japan has grown increasingly vocal in its support for India's national security, publicly condemning cross-border terrorism. Clearly, that would irk Pakistan. In Fact, the defence ministers of both countries had a meeting in New Delhi, hours before Op Sindoor was launched in May 2025. According to SIPRI, India may have started deploying a nuclear warheads with operational forces for the first time, with an estimated 12 warheads. There is no confirmation of this report from Indian authorities, yet Pakistan seems concerned.

Indo-Pacific: Shifting the power balance

India and Japan are finalising co-production of the advanced UNICORN radar to deepen defense ties.

It will improve naval stealth capabilities as it is considered among the most technologically advanced antennas in the world.

But India was the second Asian nation to have such an agreement with Tokyo, first was the Philippines, which is already armed with India's formidable supersonic cruise missile, the Brahmos.

Vietnam and Indonesia will also be priding themselves with Brahmos, which effectively makes four nations in the Indo-Pacific armed with this warhead. And all these nations have similar woes with a common state.