After the Depsang Valley incursion of April 15-May 3, when Chinese patrols transgressed 19 kilometres into Indian-claimed areas in eastern Ladakh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced that he would extend his visit in May to Tokyo by another day for consultations on strategic issues with various groups in Japan.
Around the same time, Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister and finance minister Taro Aso was in New Delhi. He stressed that Japan and India are “in the same boat” and that they should strengthen maritime cooperation.