Japan PM Kishida Arrives In India For 2-Day Visit, Will Unveil Plan For ‘Free And Open Indo-Pacific’

Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Fumio Kishida are likely to discuss the evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military assertiveness amid their wide-ranging talks.

Union MoS Rajeev Chandrashekhar welcomes Japan PM Fumio Kishida on his 2-day visit to India

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has arrived in India for his two-day visit and was received by Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar, reported news agency ANI. Kishida will unveil his plan for a “free and open Indo-Pacific” with a focus on India's increasingly significant role in the region during his visit to the national capital. 

Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Fumio Kishida are likely to discuss the evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military assertiveness during their wide-ranging talks.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrives in Delhi on a two-day visit.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar receives PM Fumio Kishida. pic.twitter.com/JjUfcmB5b6

— ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2023

"I will visit #India and meet with Prime Minister Modi. This year, Japan will chair the G7 and India will chair the G20. I would like to exchange views on the role that our two countries should play in resolving the mountain of international challenges, and to further strengthen our "Special Strategic Global Partnership", Kishida tweeted in Japanese ahead of his visit to India. 

"In addition, during my stay in India, I will announce a new plan on #Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). We will present concrete ideas about the future of FOIP at this historical turning point," he added. 

Both the heads of the nation will also talk about expanding bilateral ties in a range of areas including defence and security, trade and investments, and high technology along with priorities for India's G20 presidency and Japan's presidency of the G7. 

The Japanese Prime Minister will unveil his "Free and Open Indo-Pacific Plan for Peace" during a lecture being organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs at the Sushma Swaraj Bhavan, reported news agency PTI. 

About Free And Open Indo-Pacific Plan for Peace

The Free and Open Indo-Pacific Plan for Peace is expected to provide details of Japan's policy and approach towards the Indo-Pacific and India's significance for the Indo-Pacific. In June last year, while delivering the prestigious Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, PM Kihsida had said he would lay out the plan for Indo-Pacific next spring.

"I will lay out a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific Plan for Peace' by next spring, which will strengthen Japan's efforts to further promote the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, with an emphasis on providing patrol vessels and enhancing maritime law enforcement capabilities, as well as cyber security, digital and green initiatives, and economic security," he had said.

Japan has been pushing for a free and open Indo-Pacific with a view to maintaining and strengthening the rules-based international order in the region.

It has also been concerned over China's aggressive military posturing in the East China Sea, South China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait.