Japan, India to strengthen defenceco-operation

TOKYO – Japan and India are discussing ways to strengthen their military co-operation amid rising tension in the Asian region.

Indian Defence Minister Arun Jaitley told his Japanese counterpart, Tomomi Inada, in Tokyo on Monday that his county hopes to pursue a strategic partnership with Japan for regional peace and stability.

His visit comes at a time of rising tension in the region, including territorial rows in the South China Sea and nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.

Jaitley welcomed a planned trilateral naval exercise among the U.S., India and Japan in July as a way of strengthening co-operation in the Asia-Pacific.

Jaitley, who is also India’s finance minister, visited Japan to attend an annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank that ended Sunday.