Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Kansai International Airport on Saturday for a five-day visit in which he is expected to seek stronger security and economic ties with Japan in the face of China's rising territorial ambitions and military might.
Calling Japan and India "two major maritime democracies in Asia," government officials in Tokyo said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 59, and Modi 63, are expected to affirm their willingness to cooperate to ensure a "peaceful and stable maritime order" to curb Beijing's increasing activity in the East and South China seas, as well as the Indian Ocean.
During the visit, Modi is scheduled to hold a summit on Monday with Abe, whom he has met twice in his previous visits to Japan in 2007 and 2012. The two sides are likely to agree to launch a consultative framework for security talks involving their foreign and defense ministers, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
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