Greater Noida (Defence Desk), December 14: In a very recent development that would mean significantly to the global defence set up, India and Thailand have agreed to establish a joint working group that would oversee cooperation between defence related industries in the two countries. The Indian ministry of defence said that both sides have agreed for early establishment of a joint working group to effectively steer and monitor cooperation in the areas of defence industry.
For this, Thailand delegation also plans to visit the DRDO – Defence Research and Development Organisation headquarters to figure out possibilities for enhancing defence industrial capabilities by cooperation in defence research and joint production.
This not only boosts bilateral relations between India and Thailand but also is symbolic of India’s reach among the Southeast Asian nations and the region.
India, with its increasing defence infrastructure and cooperation with other nations, has been focusing on increasing its outreach to the other parts of the world, by practice not dominated by India.
Needless to say India has been largely benefiting from such ties, be it patrolling and surveillance and easing of the operational ability of armed forces in wartime or the missile defence systems, such programs have helped India immensely. Such arrangements in place with other key players has also helped India in the past in controlling escalation with its neighbours like Pakistan be it the time of Balakot air strikes or the Kargil war.
Another major are where India benefits from such tie ups is its ambitious program of Make in India. Some of the export-oriented nations like Russia and Israel have complement India’s dream of attaining Atmanirbharta in defence. These countries have not only shared production mechanism with India but also have gone a step ahead in ensuring transfers of their most advanced technology without placing limits to its use.
But to make this possible and to achieve this, India too had to ensure that it not only has in place joint working groups with nations like Thailand but with other major players around the globe.
For example, India-Japan have a Joint Working Group on Defence Equipment and Technology Cooperation (JWG-DETC), which has held several meetings, including the most recent on June 26, 2023. India and Japan have also held business-to-business interactions and visits between their defence industries. The two countries have immensely contributed towards boosting each other’s defence capacities from production to innovation.
Other than Japan, India and Russia also have Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) in place.
The IRIGC-MTC has two working groups and nine sub-groups that discuss military and military technical issues. The two defence ministers of India and Russia meet annually to review the status of ongoing projects.
The US also is one of India’s key players when it comes to joint working groups. The two major players share a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism. This working group is used to carry out counter-terrorism cooperation between India and the U.S.
Additionally the United Kingdom also has a 2+2 Foreign and Defence Dialogue with India. The second India-UK 2+2 Foreign and Defence Dialogue was held in New Delhi on December 3, 2024 that had discussed a series of defence events to take place between the two countries other than technology sharing, innovation and on how to enhance capacities as major players in ensuring world peace.
Over the years the joint working groups have proven to be instrumental for the well being and flourishment or defence ties between two nations and to not only to build infrastructure but also boost each other’s warfare capabilities with continuous technology sharing and innovation in research and development.
But how important are these Joint Working Groups in today’s world?
Not only defence cooperation helps in ensuring national security by building trust, preventing conflicts, and developing mutual capacities but also strengthen regional security. It has been noticed time and again that defence cooperation can help countries shape regional security by ensuring freedom of navigation and other measures.
Also, defence cooperation can help countries develop their military capabilities, including weapons systems and vehicles. It also enables a country to ensure that their national systems can integrate seamlessly to work together when needed and harmonize their defence procurement demands.
One of the most important feature of a joint working groups is that the level of defence cooperation it helps two involved countries achieve, can help the countries understand allied requirements so that they can deliver a sustainable supply to address their own and each other’s respective necessities.
Also, given that NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is also fundamentally a joint defence working group, the practice of setting up such collaborative ecosystem goes way back in time. NATO has a partnership network with over 40 non-member countries and international organizations. It helps with policy shaping, building defense capacity, and managing crises. NATO also has a focus on the Indo-Pacific region, where developments can affect Euro-Atlantic security.
This is clearly indicative of the fact that the present as well as the future of the world lies in the hands of joint collaborations as far as the global defence set up is concerned. With every nation’s stockpile of nuclear weapons and artillery rising with every passing day, it has become crucial for the countries around the world to discuss ammunition management, contribute towards research and innovation and support research and development in not only their own but also each other’s courtyard.
