Japan and India are doing joint air force training, and the Japanese plan on training in India to expand their sphere of activity to India. Its obvious as to why this is happening: both India and Japan have a common enemy and that is China. As we read in the Global Times:

Japan and India on Monday launched their first joint fighter jet exercise, a move analysts said exposed the two countries’ growing military ambitions against China under the instigation of the US.

The 11-day Veer Guardian-23 aerial maneuvers are scheduled to run until January 26 in the airspace around the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Hyakuri and Iruma air bases in Ibaraki Prefecture, the Japan Times reported on Monday.

The drills aim to continue deepening defense and security ties between Japan and India amid China’s growing capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region, the report claimed.

Analysts said that the joint exercise is a reflection of the two countries’ long-known and expanding military ambitions.

Having spent a lot in military equipment procurement, India wants to display its presence as a major country by showing off its military capabilities outside the Indian Ocean, Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times on Monday.

Japan, on the other hand, welcomed Indian fighters to its soil so it can in return send its warplanes to visit India in the future. This will allow Japan to expand its armed forces’ sphere of activity to other parts of the world, now that the country has broken away from its “self-defense only” principle, Wei said.