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Dharma Guardian 2025 will primarily focus on urban warfare tactics and counter-terrorism operations and underscores the growing strategic partnership between India and Japan.
India and Japan are scheduled to hold the sixth edition of the Exercise Dharma Guardian from February 25 to March 9, 2025 at Mount Fuji, situated on Honshu island, Japan, about 100 km southwest of Tokyo.
This biennial (every two years) exercise is a significant step in strengthening the strategic and defence cooperation between Indian and Japan. Dharma Guardian 2025 will primarily focus on urban warfare tactics and counter-terrorism operations under the United Nations mandate.
Dharma Guardian 2025 underscores the growing strategic partnership between India and Japan. During the two-week period, the Indian Army shall conduct the drills with the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF).
The announcement of Dharma Guardian 2025 followed Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi's successful visit to Japan in October 2024. The visit laid the foundation for deeper military collaboration, reflecting both countries' commitment to regional stability and collective security.
Given the evolving security environment in the Indo-Pacific, such joint training programmes are critical in addressing shared challenges.
What are the key objectives of the Exercise Dharma Guardian 2025?
The primary goal is to improve the ability of both forces to operate together efficiently; meaning enhancing operational readiness of both sides and thus improve military-to-military relations.
Other objectives are focusing on military tactics used in urban combat zones, particularly in counter-terrorism operations under UN guidelines, engaging in real-time combat simulations to counter a wide range of security threats, refining coordination strategies and interoperability between forces to develop tactical synergy and joint planning, all of which will help the armies of both the countries to improve joint military responses in crisis situations.
This effort shall also help to develop a stronger sense of trust and cooperation while working together in hostile environments.
Indeed, the India-Japan military partnership has grown significantly over the past few years.
Dharma Guardian is one of the most important bilateral defence engagements between the two nations, reflecting their commitment to regional peace, security, and the rule of law.
Since both India and Japan share a vision of a free, open, and stable Indo-Pacific, defence cooperation between the two countries amid evolving security dynamics is extremely important for securing regional peace and stability.
The collaboration has gained significance against the backdrop of an evolving security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, where India and Japan share a vision of stability, prosperity, and respect for international norms.
Through consistent joint training, the two countries will demonstrate their resolve to address potential threats and uphold regional peace. The Indo-Pacific region is witnessing growing geopolitical tensions, and therefore the joint military exercises such as Dharma Guardian between two important players in the Indo-Pacific region play a vital role in a. strengthening India-Japan defence ties; b. enhancing preparedness for emerging threats; c. reinforcing commitment to international security norms.
This exercise also complements other quadrilateral and multilateral defence collaborations, such as India's engagement in the QUAD (India, Japan, Australia, and the US) and the Malabar naval exercises.
The two-week planned drill and training programme includes urban warfare tactics (military strategies for combat in densely populated areas), counter-terrorism operations (techniques for handling insurgencies and countering asymmetric warfare threats, close combat and tactical drills (engagements focused on close-quarter battles) and intelligence sharing and surveillance training (enhancing the ability to track and neutralise threats efficiently.
These training exercises will be conducted under the United Nations mandated peacekeeping protocols, ensuring that both armies are well-prepared for joint missions under international guidelines.
In addition to tactical manoeuvres, Dharma Guardian 2025 will foster stronger cultural and professional ties between the participating contingents. Military drills often include social and cultural exchanges that promote deeper understanding of each other's traditions, values, and operational approaches.
Such interactions help in building a foundation of mutual respect, which is crucial for effective collaboration in real-world scenarios.
As both armies continue to modernise their capabilities, Exercise Dharma Guardian will serve as an opportunity to strengthen the bond between India and Japan. The Indian Army called it a 'step towards shared commitment to collective security'.
The lessons learnt and partnerships forged during this two-week endeavour are expected to have long-term benefits, not only for bilateral relations but also for broader regional cooperation in addressing complex challenges under the auspices of the United Nations framework.
Besides traditional events and social interactions, there shall be language and cultural workshops in which soldiers from both sides shall be familiarised with each other's traditions, history, and values enhancing interoperability.
Through war history discussions on military history, both sides shall be enriched in their understanding of military evolution of both countries. Cultural exchanges are crucial as they help in effective collaboration during real-world missions where understanding each other's ethos and working styles can be the key to success.
Interestingly, India's military engagement and exercises with partner countries have not been adequately covered by the Indian media that it deserves. Like the Dharma Guardian with Japan, India is also conducting Exercise Cyclone III with Egypt at the same time.
This military exercise aims to strengthen defence ties between India and Egypt focusing on joint special forces operations, tactical manoeuvres for security threats, and combat strategies in extreme environments.
This demonstrates India's growing global military partnerships, reinforcing its position as a key player in international security cooperation.
So, what are the lessons the armed forces of both India and Japan are expected to learn from Exercise Dharma Guardian?
There is no disputing the fact that the exercise shall have a long-lasting impact on both India and Japan's armed forces.
In short the key takeaways are a. enhanced tactical skills, implying the soldiers from both the countries will gain valuable experience in joint operations; b. improve bilateral defence cooperation and strengthen defence diplomacy and future military collaborations; c contribute to peacekeeping missions under the UN framework, and d. enhance future security engagements in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
Dr Rajaram Panda is a former Senior Fellow at the Pradhanmantri Memorial Museum and Library.
Dr Panda was earlier a Senior Fellow at MP-IDSA and ICCR Chair Professor at Reitaku University, Japan.
His book India and Japan: Past, Present and Future was published in 2024 by Knowledge World.