TOKYO: India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew into Japan on Saturday on a five-day official visit as their governments seek to boost security ties and counter an increasingly assertive China.

Modi arrived at Kansai International Airport near Osaka, western Japan, by special plane for a night in the nearby ancient city of Kyoto where he was to have an unofficial dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a foreign ministry official said.

The Indian leader will visit historic sites and an academic institution in Kyoto on Sunday before moving to Tokyo for meetings on Monday with Japanese government and business leaders, including a summit with Abe, the official said.

Abe and Modi are expected to affirm cooperation in ensuring a “peaceful and stable maritime order,” a Japanese official said.

Both nations hope to curb Beijing’s rising activity in the East and South China seas and the Indian Ocean.

Published in Dawn, August 31th, 2014