Japan & India Coordinate
Faced with a China that is aggressively pursuing its territorial interests in the South and East China Seas, Japan and India decided to coordinate moves.
India, Japan make common cause to thwart China’s maritime moves
NEW DELHI: Faced with a China that is aggressively pursuing its territorial interests in the South and East China Seas, Japan and India on Tuesday decided to coordinate moves and exercises in the first ever maritime dialogue held here.
The India-Japan maritime dialogue was decided during a meeting of foreign ministers last April. Interestingly, India decided to hold a maritime dialogue with China over a month before the India-Japan decision. The Indian move to start talks with Japan ahead of the dialogue with Beijing points to a stress on New Delhi’s security priorities.
The Indian side was led by D B Venkatesh Varma, who leads the division on disarmament and international security in the ministry of external affairs (MEA), and included officials from ministries of defence, coast guard, shipping and earth sciences. The Japanese side was led by Kazuyuki Yamazaki, from their foreign office and comprised officials from ministries of shipping, economy, Coast Guard, etc.
India and Japan are likely to conduct more joint naval exercises building on the first such bilateral exercise that was held off the Japanese coast last year. Similar exercises are likely in the Indian Ocean off the Somalia coast as well.
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Source: The Times of India.
