Tokyo: India and Japan affirmed on Monday plans to strengthen their military cooperation amid rising tension in the Asian region. Defence minister Arun Jaitley told his Japanese counterpart, Tomomi Inada in Tokyo that India hopes to pursue a strategic partnership with Japan for regional peace and stability.

His visit comes at a time of rising tension in the region, including territorial rows over the South China Sea and nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. Jaitley welcomed a planned trilateral naval exercise among the US, India and Japan in July as a way of strengthening cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. “This is all reflective of the level of cooperation our armed forces have with each other," he said. Japan and India have been stepping up defence cooperation amid China’s increased assertiveness in the region.

China has long been wary of joint maritime exercises between India and the United States. Japan, a staunch US ally that hosts about 50,000 American troops, has in recent years developed military cooperation with other countries, including Australia, France, Britain and the Philippines.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sought to expand Japan’s defence role and capability amid security concerns over China and North Korea. Jaitley visited Japan to attend an annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank that ended on Sunday.

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