India, Japan to push for free & open Indo-Pacific

INTERNATIONAL DESK: With an eye on growing Chinese assertiveness, foreign minister S Jaishankar and his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi in a meeting emphasised the crucial role of strong and enduring partnership between India and Japan in ensuring a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

The two leaders also underlined the importance of achieving the target of JPY 5 trillion Japanese investment in India in the period 2022-27, exploring potential areas of collaboration in critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors and resilient supply chains.

“The ministers also discussed cooperation under multilateral and plurilateral frameworks, including Quad. They agreed on the need for early reforms of the UNSC. They exchanged views on their respective G20 and G7 presidencies,” said the government in a statement. “The ministers also expressed satisfaction at the strengthening defence and security cooperation, including regular exercises and staff talks between all three services.” (TOI)