Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday began a two-day visit to India, where he and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are expected to agree on bolstering bilateral defense and maritime security cooperation amid China’s growing assertiveness in regional waters. During his stay in Modi’s home…
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday began a two-day visit to India, where he and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are expected to agree on bolstering bilateral defense and maritime security cooperation amid China’s growing assertiveness in regional waters.
During his stay in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, Abe is also scheduled to attend a ceremony in Ahmedabad to mark the beginning of construction of a new high-speed railway employing Japanese bullet train technology. Before taking power in 2014, Modi served as chief minister of Gujarat.
At Ahmedabad airport, Modi welcomed Abe in person with a hug before they headed for a dinner hosted by the Indian prime minster.
“I want us to take a big step so that this ‘shinkansen’ project, which heralded the start of Japan’s own rapid economic growth, will serve as a spark for further growth in India, ” Abe told reporters before leaving from Haneda airport in Tokyo.
Given China’s assertive activities in the East and South China seas as well as the Indian Ocean, Abe and Modi are expected to affirm the importance of collaboration in such fields as defense equipment and trilateral joint drills involving the U.
