NEW DELHI: India and Japan on Thursday decided to ramp up their strategic partnership with a declared aim to maintain stability in Asia, and urged Pakistan to act against perpetrators of 26/11 in a joint statement.The 12th edition of the Indo-Japan annual summit, held in Ahmedabad within weeks of the Doklam standoff between China and India, also sent a veiled message to Beijing that is seen as aggressive. The two countries chose to title the joint statement issued after the summit ‘Toward a Free, Open and Prosperous Indo-Pacific’.Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe , the two sides signed 15 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and pacts across sectors at the summit, the highest number so far in such meetings between India and Japan.In a joint press conference with Abe, Modi said partnerships between the two countries are not limited to bilateral or regional spheres. “We have close cooperation on global issues as well,” he said.While the joint statement did not mention the Doklam standoff, sources said the issue is understood to have figured in Modi-Abe talks. Japan was the only country that publicly supported India on the standoff.“Doklam is not specifically mentioned in the statement,” foreign secretary S Jaishankar said at a media briefing in Ahmedabad. “I think there was a discussion on regional and global developments yesterday (Wednesday) in the broader sense of the term,” he said, referring to closed-door discussions between the two leaders.He said Delhi and Tokyo are looking to elevate strategic partnerships and align each other’s approach towards the world.“We agreed to explore cooperation and exchanges between our Army and ground self-defence force and Air Force and Japan’s Air Defence Force,” Jaishankar said. “Till now thrust of the contacts and cooperation have been on maritime security,” he said.Emphasising a stronger bilateral counter-terror partnership and increased sharing of information and intelligence, the joint statement called on Pakistan to “bring to justice the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks including those of the terrorist attack in Mumbai and the terrorist attack in Pathankot”.The two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from groups including Al Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and their affiliates.Modi and Abe also called upon all countries to work towards rooting out terrorist safe havens and infrastructure, disrupting terrorist networks and financing channels, and halting cross-border movement of terrorists. They underlined the need for all countries to ensure that their territory is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other.In an oblique criticism of China’s ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) project of seven international roads connecting China with various parts of Asia, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Modi and Abe called for all countries ensuring the development and use of connectivity infrastructure in an open, transparent and non-exclusive manner based on international standards and responsible debt financing practices, while ensuring respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, the rule of law, and the environment.India has opposed CPEC as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.The two leaders welcomed the efforts to explore the development of industrial corridors and industrial network for the growth of Asia and Africa, which will benefit various stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific region including Africa. It is billed as an alternative to OBOR.Without directly referring to disputes in either South China Sea or East China, Modi and Abe reaffirmed the importance of freedom of navigation, over flight and unimpeded lawful commerce in accordance with international laws.They also highlighted the importance of peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law, notably the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and without resorting to the threat or use of force.The two prime ministers reiterated their desire and determination to work together to maintain and promote peace, stability, and development in the Indo-Pacific region, and said they would work with other countries and regional partners, including the US and Australia, to ensure a rule-based order in the region.North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, including threats to Japan, too, was strongly criticised by the two leaders.India and Japan also announced ‘Act East Forum’ to effectively link northeast India with southeast Asia as a concrete symbol of developing synergies between India’s Act East policy and Japan’s free and open Indo Pacific strategy.With regard to the defence partnership, the annual summit noted recent progress in bilateral cooperation on defence equipment and technology , including the commencement of the technical discussion for the future research collaboration in unmanned ground vehicles and robotics.Japan’s readiness to provide its state-of-the-art US-2 amphibian aircraft was appreciated as symbolising the high degree of trust between the two countries. The two governments decided to continue their discussions in this regard.Memorandum of Cooperation between the home ministry and the Cabinet Office of Japan Aims to cooperate in disaster risk reduction and share experiences, knowledge and policies on disaster prevention--Memorandum of Cooperation in Japanese language education in India between MEA & MOFA, Japan To strengthen cooperation in Japanese language education in India--India-Japan Act East Forum To enhance connectivity and promote developmental projects in India's Northeast--Arrangement between India Post and Japan Post for implementation of Cool EMS service Aims to send fresh food from Japan to India in cool boxes for Japanese in India--India-Japan investment promotion roadmap between DIPP and METI To facilitate Japanese investment in IndiaMemorandum of Cooperation between METI and Gujarat for Make In India in Mandal Bechraj-Khoraj in Gujarat To cooperate in infrastructure development in the Mandal Bechraj-Khoraj region--Exchange of record of decisions in civil aviation Indian and Japanese carriers can now fly unlimited number of flights to the select cities of each other's countries-- Science & Technology* Agreement for exchange programme between interdisciplinary theoretical and mathematical sciences (iTHEMS), RIKEN and National Centres for Biological Sciences (Simons-NCBS)* To identify and foster talented young scientists from both the countries to collaborate in theoretical biology* Joint research contract between National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology, Japan, and Department of Biotechnology (DBT)* To conduct joint research and to establish an international centre named as 'DBT-AIST International Centre for Translational & Environmental Research (DAICENTER)' at AIST, Japan* MoU Between DBT and National Institute of Advanced Science & Technology To promote research collaboration between DBT Research Institutes and AIST in the field of life science and biotechnology--* MoU on academic and sports exchange between Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education and Nippon Sports Science University* To facilitate and deepen international education cooperation and exchanges between the sports bodies* Letter Of Intent between Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education and University of Tsukuba* To strengthen strategic collaboration, joint research programme and exchanges between the two bodies* Letter Of Intent between Sports Authority of India and University of Tsukuba, Japan* To strengthen strategic collaboration, joint research programme and exchanges between the two* MoU between RIS and IDE-JETRO for promotion of cooperation in researchrelated activities* To promote institutional cooperation between RIS and IDE-JETRO to strengthen research and effectiveness of dissemination of research findings