The Indian Army will participate in the sixth edition of the joint military exercise Dharma Guardian with Japan at Mount Fuji from February 25 to March 9.

The Indian Army said the aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability between the two forces while undertaking joint urban warfare and counter-terrorism operations under UN mandate.

The exercise is taking place just months after Indian Chief of Army Staff Upendra Dwivedi visited Japan in October.

"Building on the momentum of the #COAS successful visit to Japan from 14 to 17 October 2024, Exercise #DharmaGuardian 2025 will further strengthen the bilateral defence cooperation between India and Japan," the Indian Army posted on X.

The 2024 edition of the exercise was held in Rajasthan.

What is Exercise Dharma Guardian?

Exercise 'Dharma Guardiassn’ is an annual exercise and conducted alternatively in India and Japan.

India-Japan Defence cooperation

Defence cooperation between India and Japan has been on a path of ascendancy with conduct of regular high level visits and dialogues. Defence Policy dialogue and 2+2 dialogue were held in Jun 18 and the Annual Defence Ministerial Meeting was held on 02 Sep 19.

The maiden 2+2 Ministerial Level Dialogue was held on 30 Nov 19 in India was a milestone for both the countries as they move forward in strengthening the bilateral relationship, read a statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Japan.

The Second Meeting was held in Tokyo in Sep 2022.

The Tokyo Declaration for India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership of Sep 14 and the Memorandum of Defence Cooperation and Exchanges, has provided significant impetus to our defence cooperation initiatives.