Japan, India defense chiefs agree to expand joint drills
New Delhi (Jiji Press) — Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh, met in New Delhi on Monday and agreed to expand and deepen joint defense drills between the two countries.
In the face of China’s moves to change the status quo by force and coercion, Nakatani and Singh underscored the need to strengthen Japan-India defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
To strengthen bilateral cooperation, the two ministers agreed in principle to set up a new body of relevant officials from their countries.
They also reaffirmed that the two countries will continue to work together against pirates to ensure the safety of sea lanes.
In response to the April 22 terrorist attack that killed 26 people in northern India, Nakatani said at the start of the meeting that terrorism cannot be justified for any reason.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Nakatani revealed that the Indian side requested Japan’s cooperation on tank and other engines, and indicated that Japan will “fully consider” the request.
On Sunday, the Japanese defense chief visited Sri Lanka and agreed with Sri Lanka’s deputy defense minister to strengthen cooperation at the unit level.
