India and Japan held Defence Talks in Tokyo to discuss Maritime Issues

India-Japan Defence Ministers’ Meeting was held in Tokyo on 2 November 2011. The delegation level talks, led by the Defence Minister AK Antony and his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Ichikawa, recognized the importance of sea lanes and decided to actively pursue consultations and cooperation in the field of maritime security both bilaterally and in association with all other countries in the region. India and Japan agreed to hold their first bilateral naval exercises in 2012.

The two nations exchanged views on regional and international security and decided to step up defence cooperation and exchanges between the two countries. India-Japan defence cooperation is geared towards peace and prosperity of the region and is transparent. 

The Indian delegation included the Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, the Indian Ambassador to Japan, Aloke Prasad, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral RK Dhowan and GoC-in-C, Central Command, Lt Gen VK Ahluwalia.

Anti-piracy efforts need to be supplemented by adoption of better security measures by the world maritime community. There is a need to not only have a legal framework for prosecuting the pirates, but concerted efforts are also necessary to track the money-trail and to stop it from being channelized for funding terrorist activities, worldwide.