'India-Japan Cooperation Should Not Target Or Harm Third Party': China

Beijing: China on Friday stated that bilateral cooperation between India and Japan should not target or harm any third party. Beijing's statement came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced several key initiatives to strengthen supply chain resilience during the latter's visit to Delhi.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks while responding to a question on India-Japan cooperation on critical minerals and supply chain resilience after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Takaichi.

“Cooperation between countries should be conducive to enhancing the understanding and trust among regional countries and safeguarding peace and stability in the region,” Guo said at a media briefing in Beijing.

He added that such cooperation should not target any third party or harm the interests of any third party, or be used to create “exclusive small groupings” or stoke division and confrontation. Guo said all countries share the responsibility of keeping global industrial and supply chains safe and stable.

After the Modi-Takaichi bilateral meeting on Thursday, India and Japan unveiled several initiatives, including an economic partnership framework, a defence pact to co-develop military hardware and steps to enhance energy cooperation to deal with oil shocks.

The two Prime Ministers also expressed serious concern over the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. They reiterated their strong opposition to any unilateral actions that endanger the safety as well as freedom of navigation and overflight and attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion. They shared their serious concerns over the growing militarization of disputed features and reaffirmed that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, as reflected in UNCLOS.

Also Read- India-Japan Unicorn Warship Project Kicks Off