Article Posted on : - Sep 22, 2011

Indian and Japanese navies took part in Malabar 2007 naval exercise along with US, Australia and Singapore.

NEW DELHI (PTI): Indian Defence Minister A K Antony has said India will continue to promote stronger military ties with Japan.

The Defence Minister conveyed India’s desire for closer defence ties with Japan during his meeting here on Wednesday with former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who urged for an increased cooperation between the navies of the two countries.

“India attaches great importance to continue improvement of relations with Japan,” Antony said.

In the meeting, Abe said that cooperation between India and Japan was in the interest of both nations and in the interest of regional peace and security.

At the delegation level talks, the former Japanese premier was accompanied by representatives of Japan’s National Diet and the Japan Institute of National Fundamentals whereas the Indian side included Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma, Special Secretary R K Mathur and Director General, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) N S Sisodia.

On Tuesday, Abe had urged for greater interaction between Indian and Japanese navies saying that the two sides should work closely with the US to secure the sea lanes of commerce and ensure a stable Asia.

The Japanese leader had said that with its plans of having a three aircraft carrier Navy, India can keep the Asian sea lines stable and such a step can assure Vietnamese, Americans, South Koreans “if not the Chinese.”

Japanese defence forces have taken part in trilateral exercises involving the US and India in the Pacific Ocean.