With eye on China, India and Japan vow to work as 'stabiliser' in Asia-Pacific

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New Delhi: As tensions rise with China aggressively asserting its territorial rights in the Asia-Pacific region, India and Japan have vowed to work as “stabiliser”.

"India must go beyond the Indian Ocean and Japan also must go beyond the Pacific, not because we have to serve our own interests but we have to serve the interests of the whole world," Union minister Kiren Rijiju said.

Hailing India-Japan ties, Rijiju said that both countries should go beyond their immediate oceanic limits to serve the interests of the whole world.

“Without integrating Japan's role, it will be difficult to ensure stability in the world,” Rijiju said at a seminar themed 'Indo-Pacific Region: Converging India-Japan Interests'.

"I feel that India and Japan have not realised their potential fully. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, we are looking towards (fulfilling) that.

“The chemistry between Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is very visible," ANI quoted Rijiju as saying.

"We have to be strong and we have to work together so that we work as a stabiliser.

"The shift in India's Look East policy to Act East policy is also very transforming as well as practical," Rijiju said.

"We are very inclusive in our approach. We would like to see all members of the UN to come together for maintaining stability and peace.

“Japan and India both are democratic, ancient, peace-loving countries."

Speakers at the seminar have agreed that the two countries can play an important role in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Japanese ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu, who was also present at the occasion, said that his country opposes any coercion and upholds freedom of navigation in the Asia-Pacific region.

The comments come hours after Japan and the United States discussed the tensions emerging over the disputed islands in the East China Sea.

The issue had come up during a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

A joint Japanese-US statement after the weekend meeting in the United States said the two leaders affirmed that Article 5 of the US-Japan security treaty covered the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

Expressing concern, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that the islands had been China's inherent territory since ancient times.

"No matter what anyone says or does, it cannot change the fact that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China, and cannot shake China's resolve and determination to protect national sovereignty," Reuters quoted him as saying.