China, COVID-19 crisis top talks between PM Modi, Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga

The ongoing COVID crisis and Chinese aggressiveness topped 25 minute-long discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga. The talks come even as India battles the COVID-19 crisis with over 3 lakh cases being reported on a daily basis.

During the talks, Japan's Suga "wished" for India’s early recovery from the "current spread of COVID-19 under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, and the two leaders concurred that they would work in closer cooperation towards containing the pandemic", a readout from Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

PM Modi thanked Suga for providing assistance to India for combating the pandemic. It may be recalled that Japan has provided 50 billion Yen Covid emergency assistance, 30 billion Yen social protection assistance and 1 billion Yen grant assistance to India to deal with the pandemic. With Japanese grant assistance, oxygen generators will be provided, with the procurement process still underway.

China, as expected was the other key focus, with Beijing being aggressive with Japan over Senkaku Islands and with India at the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh. The Japanese readout said Prime Minister Suga expressed "serious concerns" about China’s 'continued and strengthened unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas, including the Coast Guard Law." Chinese coast guard law passed in January of this year allows Chinese forces to use lethal force against foreign ships.

During the talks, both sides also reviewed progress on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail that will ply the "Bullet train", and aimed to "create resilient, diversified and trustworthy supply chains", the Indian readout said.

Suga was expected to visit India later this month, but could not do so because of the pandemic.