New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Friday, September 9, called on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and underlined the importance of closer coordination of policies and interests of the two nations to ensure peace and stability in the region.
Singh and Jaishankar attended the 2+2 Dialogue along with their counterparts from Japan — Foreign Affairs Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Defence Minister Hamada Yasukazu — on Thursday.
“Pleased to call on PM Fumio Kishida at the conclusion of our 2+2 meeting. Underlined the importance of closer coordination of policies and interests of India and Japan at this time,” Jaishankar tweeted.
“Expressed confidence that the vision which he and PM @narendramodi have articulated will be realised early,” he said.
Singh in his tweet said that India-Japan partnership will have a defining role to play in ensuring peace and stability in the region.
Singh during the meeting also extended his heartfelt condolences on the “sad demise” of former prime minister Shinzo Abe.
The two countries agreed to enhance their security and defence cooperation, including holding the first Air Force fighter exercise. They also reaffirmed their commitment to a rules-based global order that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.
India also extended its support to Japan’s plans of expanding and modernising its defence forces, including “counterstrike capabilities”, in an apparent bid to deter an aggressive China.
In a statement, without naming a country, Japan expressed “its resolve to examine all options necessary for national defence, including so-called ‘counterstrike capabilities’,".
India and Japan are members of the Quad which includes the US and Australia, some consider the group as a counter to China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
China has made its claims that island nations -- Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam in the disputed South China sea — are a part of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.
(With PTI inputs)