&w=3840&q=100)
Rajnath holds talks with Japanese counterpart, thanks him for defence ties
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday held bilateral talks with his Japanese counterpart, General Nakatani in the national capital and thanked the Japanese government for expressing solidarity with India over the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed.
It was a delight to meet Japan's Defence Minister Gen Nakatani San in New Delhi. India shares a Special, Strategic and Global partnership with Japan. During the bilateral meeting we discussed defence cooperation and regional security. Both sides condemned terrorism in all forms… pic.twitter.com/cqd7CWyxLS
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 5, 2025
Defence Minister praised Nakatani for his efforts to deepen defence cooperation between the between the the two countries.
In his remarks at the start of the India-Japan Defence Ministerial Meeting, Rajnath Singh recalled his earlier meeting with Nakatani and expressed confidence that the cooperation between the two countries will reach greater heights.
Singh said, "Let me begin by extending welcome to you and your delegation to India. I recall our meeting at Vientiane, Laos in November last year, where we decided to expand the defence cooperation between industry, technology and interoperability between the armed forces. At the outset, I would like to thank the government of Japan for their strong expression of solidarity with India in the wake of Pahalgam attack."
"I take this opportunity to complement you for your immense contribution in deepening the Indo-Japan defence cooperation. You had earlier foundation for strong bilateral defence partnership by concluding defense equipment and technical Cooperation Agreement and Protection of ...Military Information Agreement. As you have taken over the charge of defence again I am confident our cooperation will attain greater heights," he said.
This was the second meeting between the two leaders within six months after their maiden interaction on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Laos in November 2024.
Earlier in the day, Gen Nakatani was accorded the Guard of Honour in Delhi. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh received him, and the two leaders warmly greeted each other.
Gen Nakatani also laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in Delhi on Monday.
In a press release, the Ministry of Defence stated, "India and Japan share a long-term friendship, which has further gained qualitative momentum after the elevation of this collaboration to Special Strategic & Global Partnership in 2014. Defence and security are important pillars of the ties between the two countries."
Defence exchanges between India and Japan have strengthened in recent years due to the growing convergence on strategic matters, according to the press release. The Ministry of Defence press release further stated, "Its significance is increasing from the common outlook on issues of peace, security, and stability of the Indo-Pacific Region.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
33 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Bangladesh's Yunus claims he had appealed to PM Modi over Sheikh Hasina's online speeches, citing ‘unrest'
Bangladesh Chief Adviser and head of the country's interim government Muhammad Yunus, while expressing frustration over comments made by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's statements from India, claimed that he had reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to intervene and stop her from addressing Bangladeshis. Yunus claimed that her online speeches were provocative and risked inciting unrest in the country. While speaking to Chatham House think tank director Bronwen Maddox in London on Wednesday (June 11), Yunus said: 'All the anger (against Hasina) has now transferred to India because she went there. When I had a chance to talk to Prime Minister Modi, I simply said: you want to host her, I cannot force you to abandon that policy. But please help us in making sure she doesn't speak to Bangladeshi people the way she is doing (online).' Hasina, who was forced to flee Bangladesh in August 2024 following student-led protests against a government job quota system that escalated to violent clashes and unrest, was given refuge by India. 'She announces on such and such day at such and such hour, she will speak, and the whole of Bangladesh gets very angry, the way she is speaking. Why is she keeping this whole anger thing inside of us now? And is India doing what you asked? No. Mr Modi's answer, I quote, he said, 'It's the social media, we cannot control it',' the Bangladesh interim leader claimed. 'What can you say? It's an explosive situation. You can't just walk away by saying it's social media. So, this is what is still going on,' he added, describing the current political climate in the country as 'volatile'. On India-Bangladesh ties Yunus, during the interaction, also made a mention of the informal diplomatic note issued to India seeking Hasina's extradition. 'This will continue… we want the whole process to be very legal, very proper… We want to build the best of relationship with India. It's our neighbour, we don't want to have any kind of basic problem with them,' Yunus said. The diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Dhaka hit a new low following Hasina's ouster in August 2024, who took refuge in India. This also comes after the prosecutors with Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal charged Hasina with crimes against humanity, alleging her role in ordering mass killings during a nationwide uprising in July. The charges, submitted by Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam and his team, accuse Hasina of being the chief instigator behind the violent crackdown that unfolded during the July and August unrest, according to The Dhaka Tribune. (With inputs from PTI)
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Australia confident U.S. will proceed with Biden-era submarine pact after review
Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Thursday (June 12, 2025) he was confident the AUKUS submarine pact with the U.S. and Britain would proceed, and his government would work closely with the U.S. while the Trump administration conducted a formal review. In an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio interview, Mr. Marles said AUKUS was in the strategic interests of all three countries and the new review of the deal signed in 2021 when Joe Biden was the U.S. President was not a surprise. "I am very confident this is going to happen," he said of AUKUS, which would give Australia nuclear-powered submarines. "This is a multi-decade plan. There will be governments that come and go and I think whenever we see a new government, a review of this kind is going to be something which will be undertaken," Mr. Marles told the ABC. Australia in 2023 committed to spend A$368 billion ($239.3 billion) over three decades on AUKUS, Australia's biggest ever defence project with the United States and Britain, to acquire and build nuclear-powered submarines. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time next week on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada, where the security allies will discuss tariffs and a request from the United States for Australia to increase defence spending from 2% to 3.5% of gross domestic product. Mr. Albanese had previously said defence spending would rise to 2.3% and has declined to commit to the U.S. target, saying Australia would focus on capability needs. Under AUKUS, Australia was scheduled to make a $2 billion payment in 2025 to the U.S. to help boost its submarine shipyards and speed up lagging production rates of Virginia-class submarines to allow the sale of up to three U.S. submarines to Australia from 2032. The first $500 million payment was made when Mr. Marles met with his U.S. counterpart Pete Hegseth in February. U.S. NOT MEETING PRODUCTION TARGETS The Pentagon's top policy adviser Elbridge Colby, who has previously expressed concern the U.S. would lose submarines to Australia at a critical time for military deterrence against China, will be a key figure in the review, examining the production rate of Virginia-class submarines, Mr. Marles said. "It is important that those production and sustainment rates are improved," he added. AUKUS would grow the U.S. and Australian defence industries and generate thousands of manufacturing jobs, Mr. Marles said in a statement. John Lee, an Australian Indo-Pacific expert at Washington's conservative Hudson Institute think tank, said the Pentagon review was "primarily an audit of American capability" and whether it can afford to sell up to five nuclear powered submarines when it was not meeting its own production targets. "Relatedly, the low Australian defence spending and ambiguity as to how it might contribute to a Taiwan contingency is also a factor," Mr. Lee said. Charles Edel, Australia chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said AUKUS was significant for "enhancing deterrence by putting more players in the field", and it would be important for Mr. Albanese to seek reassurance from Mr. Trump when they meet. "A necessary part of the conversation will be discussing how both Australia and the U.S. are working to boost their own defence capabilities, enhancing allied integration, and delivering deterrent effects with a sense of urgency," he said. Under the multi-stage AUKUS timeline, Britain and Australia will jointly build a new AUKUS-class submarine expected to come into service from 2040. Mr. Marles said Britain's recently completed review of AUKUS was positive. Britain announced plans this month to increase the size of its nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Chinese fighters flew close to Japanese patrol planes, Tokyo expresses concern
Chinese fighter jets flew unusually close to Japanese military patrol planes over the weekend, Tokyo said, after two Chinese aircraft carriers were spotted operating simultaneously in the Pacific for the first time. "We have expressed serious concern to the Chinese side and solemnly requested prevention of recurrence," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Thursday, referring to the June 7-8 incidents in which Tokyo said Chinese jets flew as close as 45 metres (148 feet) to Japanese planes. On Saturday, a Chinese J-15 jet from the aircraft carrier Shandong chased a Japanese P-3C patrol aircraft for about 40 minutes, according to Japan's Defence Ministry. On Sunday, a J-15 chased a P-3C for 80 minutes, crossing in front of the Japanese aircraft at a distance of only 900 meters (2,950 feet), it said. A spokesperson at the ministry's Joint Staff Office declined to disclose whether the same planes were involved in the incidents on both days. The P-3C aircraft, belonging to Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force based in the island of Okinawa, were conducting surveillance over international waters in the Pacific, according to the Ministry. "Such abnormal approaches by Chinese military aircraft could potentially cause accidental collisions," the Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, attaching close-up images of the J-15 jet it took on Sunday. There was no damage to the Japanese planes and crew, it added. Mr. Hayashi, the top Japanese government spokesperson, told a regular briefing that Tokyo will maintain communications with Beijing at various levels and ensure the monitoring of airspace around its territories. Earlier this week, Tokyo said the Shandong and another Chinese carrier the Liaoning were conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time, describing it as a move signifying Beijing's intention to further widen its capabilities beyond its borders. Beijing has said the operations were a "routine training" exercise that did not target specific countries. In 2014, Tokyo said it spotted Chinese military aircraft flying as close as 30 metres to its military aircraft over the East China Sea and protested to Beijing.
