Modi-Abe meet; India look forward to boost bilateral ties

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said in a media briefing here ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan on October 28-29.

India on Thursday said that it welcomed the improvement of ties between Japan and China as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reached Beijing on a rare bilateral visit.

"I can say with confidence that not only will there be no impact on this (India-Japan) relationship, but we also welcome the improvement of relations between China and Japan," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said in a media briefing here ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan on October 28-29 for the annual bilateral summit with Abe.

"We have a very deep relationship, a very diverse relationship, we have two governments committed to this relationship," he said.

"We have a shared a vision, not only of our bilateral relations but in a regional and global perspective, which is reflected also in the Indo-Pacific."

This is Abe's first visit to China since ties between Tokyo and Beijing soured six years ago over a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

The controversy sparked anti-Japanese riots in China and kicked off a frosty spell between the two sides that has only recently begun to thaw.

Gokhale also referred to Modi's speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June in which he said that India stood for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.