India, Japan agree to bolster defence ties

NEW DELHI, Aug 20: India and Japan agreed to bolster security ties including maritime cooperation on Thursday after their defence ministers met in New Delhi.

India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi held talks and signed a memorandum on maritime security cooperation, according to a joint statement.

Both countries are members of the so-called Quad security alliance along with the United States and Australia, a group seen as a counterweight to China's expanding presence in the Indian Ocean and wider Asia-Pacific region.

"The two ministers affirmed their commitment... to further deepen defence cooperation to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific," the joint statement said. -"AFP