India and Japan, the two key adversaries of China, signed a key defence agreement for reciprocal provision of supplies and services between their defence forces as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe held their annual summit over the phone today.

The Acquisition and CrossServicing Agreement (ACSA) between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and India’s armed forces was signed by Japanese ambassador Satoshi Suzuki and defence secretary Ajay Kumar in New Delhi on Wednesday. The agreement comes at a time when India is locked in a tense military stand-off with China at eastern Ladakh and the ongoing row between Japan and China over the disputed Senkaku/ Diaoyu islands.

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The agreement establishes the enabling framework for closer cooperation between the armed forces of India and Japan in reciprocal provision of supplies and services while engaged in bilateral training activities, UN peacekeeping operations, humanitarian international relief and other mutually agreed activities, the Defence Ministry said today.

The agreement will also enhance the interoperability between the armed forces of India and Japan thereby further increasing the bilateral defence engagements under the special strategic and global partnership between the two countries.

The two Prime Ministers held their summit in a unique fashion on phone today lasting 30 minutes during which Abe informed Modi that he would resign from his position due to health reasons and expressed his gratitude and for the friendship and the relationship of trust built with the Indian leader. The two leaders welcomed the signing of the agreement for reciprocal provision of supplies and services between the armed forces of their two countries. They concurred that the agreement will further enhance the depth of defence cooperation between the two countries and contribute to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

The two leaders reviewed the status of ongoing cooperation, including the Mumbai- Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project, under the framework of the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. They agreed that the strong and enduring partnership between the two countries will play a critical role in charting the course for the global community in the post-Covid world.