Japan and India agreed Thursday to intensify economic and security cooperation as the two Asian countries seek to strengthen ties in the face of China’s growing influence in the region.
The agreement was reached at a meeting between Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Kamikawa told a joint press conference after talks with Jaishankar that their countries will expand bilateral security cooperation, including in the field of defense equipment and technology transfers.
He also said they agreed to look for possibilities to expand their cooperation into new areas of space and cybersecurity.
Japan and India, members of the Quad group that also includes the United States and Australia, have rapidly strengthened their bilateral ties amid shared concern over China’s increasingly assertive economic and military activities in the region.
“India and Japan, as two major Indo-Pacific nations with shared values, history and interests, have an abiding stake in the peace, security and prosperity of our region and are willing to play a responsible role commensurate with the needs of our times,” said Jaishankar, who is on a three-day visit to Tokyo to meet with Japanese government and business officials.
Pointing to rapidly changing strategic relations and a worsening security environment on the global stage where divisions and contention are deepening, Kamikawa said Japan wants to work with India to solve common problems through dialogue and cooperation.
“Japan attaches special importance to its relations with India, which has nurtured its own democracy and history and represents the Global South,” Kamikawa stressed.
“In the face of today’s increasingly serious security environment, we confirm the need for our defense and security cooperation,” he added.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)