Japan, India agree to deepen defence

20 die as boat capsizes

GANDHINAGAR, India, Sept 14, (Agencies): The leaders of India and Japan agreed on Thursday to deepen defence ties and push for more cooperation with Australia and the United States, as they seek to counter growing Chinese influence across Asia.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived this week in his counterpart Narendra Modi’s home state, skipping the tradition of visiting the capital of New Delhi, for the tenth meeting between two leaders since Modi came to power in 2014.

Relations have deepened between Asia’s second and third largest economies as Abe and Modi, who enjoy a close personal relationship, increasingly see eye-to-eye to balance China as the dominant Asian power.

“Almost everything that takes place during the visit, including economic deals, will in part be done with China in mind,” Eurasia analysts said in a note.

Abe’s visit comes days after New Delhi and Beijing agreed to end the longest and most serious military confrontation along their shared and contested border in decades, a dispute that had raised worries of a broader conflict between the Asian giants.

In a lengthy joint statement, India and Japan said deepening security links was paramount. This included collaboration on research into unmanned ground vehicles and robotics and the possibility of joint field exercises between their armies.

There was also “renewed momentum” for cooperation with the United States and Australia. Earlier this year, India rejected an Australian request to be included in four-country naval drills for fear of angering Beijing.

“Relations between India and Japan are not only a bilateral relationship but have developed into a strategic global partnership,” Abe told reporters in Gandhinagar, the capital of western Gujarat state.

“We (India and Japan) will strengthen our collaboration with those countries with whom we share universal values.”

Abe flew to Gujarat to lay the foundation stone of a $17 billion bullet train project, India’s first, that was made possible by a huge Japanese loan.

Tokyo wants to win other high-speed rail lines India plans to build, to edge out Chinese ambitions to do the same and provide a boost for its high-end manufacturers.

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At least 20 people died on Thursday when a boat packed with labourers capsized on the Yamuna river in northern India, an official said.

Twenty bodies have been recovered, Dharam Pal Singh, additional magistrate of Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh state, told AFP. “It appears the boat was crowded beyond its capacity,” he said.

“The incident happened early morning. It was a privately hired boat and was carrying some 50-55 people,” said Singh.

Angry residents protested on the streets in Baghpat, accusing the administration of not providing help to the victims quickly enough.

“They used dead bodies to block roads. Police are on the spot and a probe has been ordered,” Prashant Kumar, a senior police official told AFP.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the boat capsized mid-stream and most of the victims were women.

Boat accidents are common in India, mainly because of overcrowding, poor maintenance and lax safety on ferries.

Nineteen people died in January when a boat carrying revellers from a kite festival capsized on the Ganges river in eastern India.

The Uttar Pradesh government, run by India’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, announced compensation of 200,000 rupees ($3,100) for each victim’s family in the latest disaster.