India, Japan seek early agreement on civil nuclear pact

TOKYO (Reuters): Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart agreed on Wednesday to speed up talks on a deal to allow Japan to export nuclear plants and to strengthen security cooperation as both sides keep a wary eye on China’s military clout.

The Indo-Japanese summit meeting follows Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit last week to India, which has been shaken by a recent border spat with China and is cautious about Beijing’s friendship with rival Pakistan.

Japan, for its part, has been locked in a territorial dispute with China over a group of East China Sea islets.

“In the political and security area, maritime security cooperation will further be strengthened ... On civil nuclear cooperation, negotiation will be accelerated toward the early conclusion of the agreement,” Abe told a ceremony alongside India’s Manmohan Singh.

Abe and Singh welcomed expanding defence cooperation and decided to hold regular joint naval exercises. The first such exercise was held last June.

Faced with China’s maritime expansion, Singh and Abe said they were committed to freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce, and agreed to promote cooperation on maritime issues.