India and Japan affirm plans to strengthen their defence cooperation

India and Japan have affirmed plans to strengthen their defence cooperation amid rising tension in the Asian region. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley told his Japanese counterpart, Tomomi Inada, in Tokyo yesterday that New Delhi 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.

Mr Jaitley welcomed a planned trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, India and Japan in July as a way of strengthening cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. Mr Jaitley, who also holds Finance portfolio, visited Japan to attend an annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank that ended on Sunday.