Maritime Security Issues Dominate India-Japan Defence talks
India and Japan to step up Bilateral Military Exercises Maritime security, anti-piracy measures, freedom of navigation and maintaining the security of Sea Lanes of Communication to facilitate unhindered trade by the sea routes-are some of the issues that dominated the India-Japan Defence Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo last week. The delegation level talks, led by the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony and his Japanese counterpart Mr 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'.The Indian delegation included the Defence Secretary Shri Shashi Kant Sharma, the Indian Ambassador to Japan, Shri Aloke Prasad, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral RK Dhowan and GoC-in-C, Central Command, Lt Gen VK Ahluwalia.Speaking at the meeting, Shri Antony said, Maritime Security challenges are becoming increasingly complex and varied. Shri Antony said India has substantially increased its anti-piracy deployment in the East Arabian Sea since November 2010. He, however, felt that concerted efforts of the world community, under a UN mandate, are necessary to effectively address the problem.Shri Antony said anti piracy efforts need to be supplemented by adoption ...
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