Japan backs India's fight against terrorism

New Delhi | Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday hosted his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani for wide-ranging talks touching upon the scourge of terrorism and ways to expand bilateral defence ties in the wake of China's military posturing in the Indo-Pacific.

Gen Nakatani, whose visit to India comes amid its heightened tensions with Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, condemned the terrorist attack and expressed solidarity with India in the fight against terrorism.

In his opening remarks at the delegation-level talks that followed a one-on-one meeting, Singh said, "I would like to thank the government of Japan for their strong expression of solidarity with India in wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack".

"India shares a Special, Strategic and Global partnership with Japan. During the bilateral meeting we discussed defence cooperation and regional security," Singh said in a social media post.

"Both sides condemned terrorism in all forms and emphasised the need for enhanced collaboration and joint efforts to counter cross-border threats." Singh said Nakatani expressed solidarity with India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and offered "full support" to India.

It is learnt that the two sides also deliberate on ways to boost India-Japan defence industrial cooperation.

The two ministers also exchanged "views and ideas" on the current regional and international security situation.

It was the second meeting between the two defence ministers within six months after their maiden interaction in November on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus at Lao PDR.

At that meeting, Singh and Gen Nakatani deliberated on a reciprocal provision of supply and services agreement for greater interoperability between their militaries.

The reciprocal supply and services pact, if sealed, would provide for the militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating the scaling up of overall defence cooperation.

It is learnt that the two sides also reviewed the situation in the strategic waters of East and South China Seas where Beijing has been increasing its military posturing.