Looked at situation in Kashmir carefully; hope for peaceful resolution: Japan
New Delhi: Japan on Sunday said it looked at the situation in Kashmir “very carefully” and hoped that a peaceful resolution to the issue will be found through dialogue.
The comments by a spokesperson of the Japanese Foreign Ministry came a day after India and Japan held their first foreign and defence ministerial dialogue under a new framework to further broadbase strategic ties.
“I do not remember the ministers going into the detailed discussion on the specific issue,” Deputy Press Secretary in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Atsushi Kaifu told reporters when asked whether the Kashmir issue figured in the talks.
“But at the same time, I can say we looked at the situation there very carefully. We are aware of the long-standing differences of views with regard to Kashmir. We hope a peaceful resolution will be found through dialogue,” he said.
Asked about uncertainty over the Japan-backed bullet train project from Mumbai to Ahmedabad after a new government came to power in Maharashtra, the spokesperson said officials of both the countries are working on it and that challenges occur in large projects.
To a question on China’s growing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea, Kaifu said freedom of navigation and overflight must be ensured in the region, asserting that Japan does not compromise on security and maritime issues.
“Japan and China now have a lively relationship, but we do not compromise on security and maritime issues including on the South China Sea,” he said, adding that Japan has been trying to engage China in various ways and both countries are working on a bilateral visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Japan next year.
Press Trust of India
