Japan's Kishida pushes India's Modi for clear response to Ukraine crisis

FILE PHOTO: Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference at the prime minister's official residence on February 25, 2022, Tokyo, Japan. Rodrigo Reyes Marin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

MUMBAI (Reuters) -Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had shaken "the foundation of international order" and required a clear response.

"We (Kishida and Modi) confirmed any unilateral change to the status quo by force cannot be forgiven in any region, and it is necessary to seek peaceful resolutions of disputes based on international law," Kishida told reporters after meeting Modi in New Delhi.

India and Japan are party to the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), a security framework that also includes the United States and Australia.

While Japan has imposed sanctions on dozens of Russian individuals and organisations since the start of what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine and has accepted Ukrainian refugees, India is the only Quad member not to have condemned the invasion.

Kishida also announced a plan to invest 5 trillion yen ($42 billion) in India over five years.

In recent years Japan has supported India's urban infrastructure development and provided funds for a high-speed railway based on its bullet train technology.

In 2020, the two countries signed an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement that allows for reciprocal stocks of food, fuel and other supplies between defence forces.

(Reporting by Ju-Min Park, Kentaro Sugiyama in Tokyo and Abhirup Roy in Mumbai; Editing by Rupam Jain, Kirsten Donovan)

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