New Delhi: On the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Japan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the ties between the two countries have deepened in every sphere, be it strategic, economic or people-to-people contacts.
The recent visit to India by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for the annual summit laid out a roadmap for deepening the Special Strategic and Global Partnership between the two countries in a post-Covid world, Modi said in a tweet, adding that he looked forward to continue working with Kishida to realise that objective.
He said, "As we celebrate 70 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Japan today, I am happy to see that our ties have deepened in every sphere, whether strategic, economic or people-to-people contacts."
India and Japan established diplomatic relations on April 28, 1952, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
In just a decade, New Delhi and Tokyo have expanded high-level ministerial and bureaucratic contacts, conducted joint military exercises and concluded military pacts such as the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) logistics agreement.
Further, no meeting would be complete without an affirmation of New Delhi and Tokyo’s support for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and continued willingness to work with the Quad, which is fast emerging as a central pillar of the security strategies of both nations.
India and Japan also have close military ties. They have shared interests in maintaining the security of sea-lanes in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean, and in co-operation for fighting international crime, terrorism, piracy and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The two nations have frequently held joint military exercises and co-operate on technology. India and Japan concluded a security pact on 22 October 2008.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seen by some to be an "Indophile" and, with rising tensions in territorial disputes with Japan's neighbors, has advocated closer security cooperation with India.
In July 2014, the Indian Navy participated in Exercise Malabar with the Japanese and US navies, reflecting shared perspectives on Indo-Pacific maritime security. India is also negotiating to purchase US-2 amphibious aircraft for the Indian Navy.
(with inputs from PTI)
