COVID-19 crisis, Chinese aggression feature in Modi-Suga talks

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New Delhi: The ongoing COVID-19 crisis and Chinese aggression featured the 25-minute long discussions between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga on Monday (April 26). The talks come even as India battles the second wave of the COVID pandemic with over 3 lakh cases being reported on a daily basis.

During the talks, Japan's Suga wished for India’s early recovery from the "current spread of COVID-19 under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, and the two leaders concurred that they would work in closer cooperation towards containing the pandemic", a statement from the Japanese foreign ministry said.

PM Modi thanked Suga for providing assistance to India for combating the pandemic. Notably, Japan has provided 50 billion yen as COVID emergency assistance,  30 billion yen as social protection assistance and 1 billion yen grant assistance to India to deal with the pandemic.

China, as expected was the other key focus, with Beijing being aggressive with Japan over Senkaku Islands and with India at the line of actual control in Eastern Ladakh.

Prime Minister Suga expressed "serious concerns" about China’s “continued and strengthened unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas, including the Coast Guard Law." Chinese coast guard law passed in January of this year allows Chinese forces to use lethal force against foreign ships.

During the talks both sides also reviewed progress on Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail that will ply the "Bullet train", and aimed to "create resilient, diversified and trustworthy supply chains", the Indian readout said.

Notably, Japanese PM was expected to visit India later this month, but could not do so because of the covid pandemic.