AMN / NEW DELHI
India and Japan today discussed ways to strengthen the existing bilateral cooperation and adoption of new initiatives for achieving peace and security in the region.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh co-chaired India-Japan Defence Ministerial Meeting with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi lwaya in Tokyo.
Describing it as extremely fruitful Ministerial Level Dialogue, Mr Singh said, India and Japan will continue working together to further deepen the defence ties between both the nations.
An official release said, the importance of the Special Strategic and Global Partnership between India and Japan in addressing regional peace, security and stability was also highlighted.
The Indo-Pacific vision was also discussed at length during the meeting with emphasis on India’s preference for a rules-based order along with centrality of Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Mr Singh reached Tokyo this morning on the first leg of his five-day visit to Japan and South Korea.
Later in the day, Mr Rajnath Singh met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Describing the meeting as excellent, Mr Singh said, he conveyed to Mr Abe India’s commitment to further enhance the defence engagements between both the countries. In a tweet, the Defence Minister said, India attaches the highest priority to the bilateral relationship with Japan.
Abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution came up during the discussion. Mr Singh conveyed to Mr Abe that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and abrogation of the article benefits the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He said, Pakistan has no locus standi in Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier, during his meeting with the Japanese Defence Minister, Mr Singh said, talks and cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan cannot go together. He invited the participation of Japanese companies and other stakeholders at biennial DefExpo 2020 to be held in Lucknow.
During his meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, there was a general understanding that more co-operation should be realised in Defence Equipment and Technology Co-operation.
Prime Minister Abe said, he looks forward to meet Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month.