Japan to take part in India-U.S. naval exercises again

• The Japanese Navy will take part, for the second year running, in the joint naval exercises by India and the United States. These will be held off the Okinawa coast, which has the highest concentration of U.S. Marines in the region.
• The Malabar series of exercises, from April 2 to 10, will include Japanese ships, in keeping with the growing proximity, in a wide variety of spheres, between New Delhi and Tokyo, said government sources.
• Japanese interest in developing a robust defence cooperative arrangement with India comes even as a National Defence Programme Guidelines, released recently, mentions three countries as rising powers. Japan has a tense relationship with China and is still negotiating a peace treaty with Russia. India is the only country with which it does not have security issues.
• The sources also drew attention to the greater importance to be given to India — as was reflected in two key speeches, made by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, on diplomacy, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Seiji Maehara's address to the Diet. In Mr. Kan's speech, India figured in four out of Japan's five foreign policy pillars while in Mr. Maehara's address, India, though mentioned, was ranked below several other countries with whom Japan wants to strengthen relations.
• According to the U.S. Navy, the aim of the exercise is to "strengthen the stability of the Pacific Region," but India denies this, deeming it simply as a learning exercise for the Indian Navy. The Navy will concentrate on aspects such as anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, air defence, live-fire gunnery training, and visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations