Maritime security, anti-piracy measures, freedom of navigation and maintaining security of Sea Lanes of Communication were some of the issues that dominated the talks between the Defence Ministers of India and Japan in Tokyo on Wednesday night.

The Indian delegation at the talks was led by the Defence Minister AK Antony and his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Ichikawa represented Tokyo.

The two sides recognized the importance of sea lanes and decided to actively pursue consultations and cooperation in the field of maritime security both bilaterally and in association with all other countries in the region.

According to an official press release, Mr Antony said, Maritime Security challenges are becoming increasingly complex and varied.

and asserted that India has substantially increased its anti-piracy deployment in the East Arabian Sea since November 2010.

He, however, felt that concerted efforts of the world community, under a UN mandate, are necessary to effectively address the problem.

He said anti piracy efforts need to be supplemented by adoption of better security measures by the world maritime community.

The Minister said that India supports freedom of Navigation in international waters and the rights of passage in accordance with accepted principles of international law.

The two countries resolved to continue to make active contributions to the peace, stability and prosperity of Asia as a whole.

Both sides decided to implement the Japan-India Defence policy dialogue and to step up defence cooperation.

Cadet exchange programmes would also be conducted between the National Defence Academy of Japan and National Defence Academy of India.