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Showing posts with the label Israel- Japan relations

India and Japan Inch Closer to Surveillance Aircraft Deal (Source- The Diplomat / Author- Ankit Panda)

Shin Meiwa U2 plane ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda As India and Japan continue to strategically converge amid mutual fears regarding China’s rise, they have deepened their defense cooperation. Notably, India will likely be Japan’s first export partner for military hardware under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s principles on defense equipment exports. The Japanese government recently lifted its decades-old self-imposed ban on exporting weaponry to other countries. The two governments look all set to conclude a landmark deal for the sale of Japanese amphibious search and rescue (SAR) aircraft, a deal that has been in the works for years. India will likely purchase 12 ShinMaywa US-2 short take-off and landing (STOL) SARs this year (down from an earlier estimate of 15). Negotiations for the sale of the US-2 began in 2011 under the Democratic Party of Japan, first under Prime Minister Naoto Kan and then under Yoshihiko Nod

Israel Targets Japan in ‘Look East’ ( Source- The Diplomat, Author- Alvite Singh Ningthoujam)

Israel-Japan relations ( Image credits- United with Israel. org) Source- The Diplomat Author- Alvite Singh Ningthoujam Israel has been busy of late, strengthening its ties with East Asia, and Japan is no exception. The flurry of diplomatic initiatives by both countries come after a period of prolonged silence. While the magnitude of cooperation with Tokyo is not on a par with that of Israel’s engagements with China and South Korea, emerging developments may well take the bilateral ties to a new level. Israel’s rapidly rising importance to Japan has come at an opportune time for Tel Aviv, with an evident decline in the strength of its ties with the European Union and its major partner, the United States. In the Middle East too, there has been a further widening of Israel’s isolation, particularly after the Gaza crisis last summer. How to explain the warming of relations between Israel and Japan? There are several factors. From Japan’s perspective, stepping up coope