India remains an important and indispensable partner for Japan in realising a free and open Indo-Pacific, spokesperson of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) stated in New Delhi on Tuesday.
"India is a very important and indispensable partner for Japan in realising a free and open Indo-Pacific. In this regard, we welcome the commitment of the Indian government, especially Prime Minister Modi, to work with the Japanese government," Press Secretary of Japan's Foreign Ministry, Toshihiro Kitamura, told IANS in an interview following the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in the capital.
"We are very happy to continue our cooperation with the Indian government based on the joint statement between the two countries for the next 10 years," he noted
Kitamura also commented on strengthening maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific.
"Sea lines of communication are quite important for both India and Japan. Securing free navigation is also very important for both countries. At today's meeting, we initiated two kinds of cooperation. One is the Quad Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative. The second is the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Cooperation initiative," he highlighted.
The Japanese official emphasised that Tokyo is looking forward to working closely with New Delhi on these initiatives in order to bring "tangible outcomes" and ensure free navigation in the region.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Cooperation initiative and the expansion of the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness initiative following a meeting with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
During the meeting, Japan had shared its serious concerns regarding the export restrictions on important minerals.
Speaking about the major challenges arising due to the growing geopolitical tensions, Toshihiro Kitamura told IANS about the importance of establishing a stable supply chain for critical minerals and securing energy supplies.
"We have announced our commitment to promote the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Initiative. We would like to continue such cooperation among the four countries so that we can provide concrete and tangible support to the region," he stated.
