India and Japan hold first Veer Guardian 2023 air exercise

India and Japan will today begin their first joint aerial exercise, ‘Veer Guardian 2023’.

The two-week exercise will take place in Hyakuri Airbase. The exercise will conduct several take-off and landing drills while showcasing numerous high-capacity Russian and American stealth jets such as the Russian SU-30 MKI and American F-15.

The Veer Guardian 2023 is an important step for New Delhi and Tokyo to improve their cooperation in the defense sector during the short- to medium-term, especially against China’s growing influence and aggressive military policies in the Indo-Pacific. India is currently engaged in a proxy conflict with China, which often results in border skirmishes. Meanwhile Tokyo has grown wary of Beijing’s aggressive military policies in the region, such as the military drills off the coast of Japanese islands in the East China Sea. Expect Tokyo and New Delhi to engage in additional military drills moving forward. In turn, expect China to respond to this alliance build-up by further increasing its bilateral ties with New Delhi’s rivals—most notably, Pakistan. This will likely result in Beijing launching their own military drill in the Indian Ocean, presumably off the coast of India.