India, Japan will shape 21st century: Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a signing ceremony at Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo yesterday. Photo: AFP

Conservative soulmates Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe declared yesterday ties between India and Japan were moving to a "new level", during a summit pregnant with promise for a relationship they hope will offer a counterweight to China.

Modi's first foreign visit outside the Indian sub-continent has been a relaxed display of personal chemistry between the leaders of countries that bookend an ever-more assertive Beijing, and which both have prickly relations with their giant neighbour.

Despite falling short of launching a "two-plus-two" security framework of foreign and defence ministers, the two men hailed the transformative potential of the partnership between Asia's second and third largest economies.

"The world knows the 21st century is Asia's century," Modi told a joint press conference after the summit.

"But its shape and quality are not yet clear. This will be decided by how Japan and India work together," he said, adding: "I think our relationship is moving to a new level."

Abe also lauded a tie-up he said was "the one with the most potential in the world".

"Together, working hand-in-hand with Prime Minister Modi, I intend to fundamentally strengthen our relationship in every field to elevate our relationship to a special strategic and global partnership," he said.

Both nations are wary of China's growing ambition to be seen as the regional keystone and are keen to curb its activity in the East and South China Seas and in the Indian Ocean.