A maritime dialogue was held in New Delhi on Jan. 29 between DB Venkatesh Varma, who heads the division of disarmament and international security of India's Ministry of External Affairs, and Kazuyuki Yamazaki, deputy director of the policy bureau of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports the Times of India.
With India and Japan facing a shared threat of Chinese expansion in the South and East China seas, respectively, the dialogue was held to coordinate the strategies of the two countries in the region. This dialogue was announced last April during the Sixth Strategic Dialogue between SM Krishnal, India's former foreign minister, and his Japanese counterpart Koichiro Genba, who has likewise since been replaced. Although India originally planned to hold such a dialogue with China first, it eventually chose to make initial consultations with Japan. This is a clear sign of the Indian government's security priorities, the Times of India noted.
Read the full story at Want China Times