As Japan pledged financial assistance for big-ticket projects like the Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor and third line of Mumbai Metro and displayed willingness for early conclusion of India's effort for civil nuclear cooperation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe spoke of a partnership of the two democracies against use of force to change the order in Asia: diplomatic shorthand for Chinese attempt to arm-twist Japan and other nations into making territorial concessions.
The two sides agreed to institutionalize joint exercises by their navies and to increase their frequency even as Japan offered its highly advanced sea plane Shinmaywa or US-2 in what is the first instance of Tokyo's willingness to offer a technology that has both military and civilian applications. A very sophisticated craft, the amphibian plane has a very long range and can land and take off in choppy waters.
India's department of atomic energy and Japan's ministry of economy, trade and industry signed a memorandum for cooperation on the development of rare earths industry in India, a significant element of the expanding cooperation considering Japanese dependence on China for critical raw materials.
In a toughly-worded opinion piece, the daily lashed out at Japanese politicians, calling them "petty burglars" on China-related issues. Surprisingly, the Chinese daily said India and China were able to resolve their standoff over the incursion of People's Liberation Army in Ladakh swiftly, saying, "In the development of Sino-Indian ties, there are several divergence (sic) and contradictions. Some countries see these differences as an opportunity to provoke dissension."
India also committed support to Japan's bid to host the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
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