India & Japan ask Pak to act against terror

New Delhi : In their inaugural foreign and defence ministerial dialogue, India and Japan on Saturday voiced serious concern over the threat posed to regional peace and security by terror networks operating from Pakistan and asked it to take "resolute and irreversible" action to contain terrorism.

The two countries, under the new framework of two-plus-two dialogue, discussed a raft of strategic issues including the latest developments in the disputed South China Sea, evolving security scenario in the Indo-Pacific region and ways to boost bilateral cooperation in co-development of military hardware, officials said.

Acknowledging the emerging security challenges, the two sides specifically decided to further expand maritime security ties and expressed satisfaction over the progress made in the negotiations for the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) which would allow the two countries to use each other's military logistics, they said.

While deliberating on security challenges facing the region and beyond, the two countries specifically referred to the threat posed by terrorist networks operating out of Pakistan and asked it to "fully comply" with its international commitments to deal with terrorism including implementing the steps mandated by Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-terror watchdog.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar led the Indian delegation while the Japanese side was headed by Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Minister of Defence Taro Kono, officials said.

"The ministers underlined the need for all countries to ensure that all territory under their control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries in any manner," an Indo-Japan joint statement said.

"They noted in this context the threat posed to regional security by terrorist networks operating out of Pakistan and called upon it to take resolute and irreversible action against them and fully comply with international commitments including to FATF," it said.

India and Japan also called upon all countries take resolute action for rooting out terrorist safe havens and infrastructure and disrupt terrorist networks.