Japanese General Yoshihide highlights complex maritime threats in the Indo-Pacific
Mar 19, 2025
New Delhi [India], March 19 : General Yoshihide Yoshida, Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, Japan Self-Defense Forces, on Wednesday highlighted the complex maritime threats in the Indo-Pacific region, emphasizing the need to protect the waters.
Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2025 session on the theme "Deepwater Perils: Securing Trade Through Red Zones," General Yoshida noted that the region can be divided into sub-regions, each facing unique threats.
Speaking to ANI, General Yoshihide said, "I think there are various threats in maritime domains. For example, the Indo-Pacific region is bigger and can be separated into some sub-regions."
He said that each sub-region has a different threat and cited examples of the same.
General Yoshida said, "The Indian Ocean has the competition to access... in the Pacific Islands is law enforcement fields such as IUU fishing, so there are various threats in the maritime domain, and the common threat is how to protect the sea lanes and the submarine cables."
He highlighted that thus, "The maritime domain is a very, very complex domain."
General Yoshida also emphasized the importance of preparing for high-end warfare, citing the complexity of the maritime domain.
General Yoshida shared the initiatives Japan is taking in order to keep up with the present realities. "By 2027, we will increase the defence budget to 2 per cent of the GDP".
The session at Raisina Dialogue 2025 on the theme "Deepwater Perils: Securing Trade Through Red Zones" discussed how threats emanating from state and non-state actors are increasingly conflated, with both employing similar tactics and strategies.
As per the website, the session's discussion aimed at addressing this shift which raises critical questions about the preparedness of armed forces, the evolution of defence architectures, and the adaptation of military doctrines.
Raisina Dialogue, India's premier conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, is organised by the Ministry of External Affairs. The 10th edition of the summit began on March 17, with today marking its conclusion.
