New Delhi and Beijing will discuss a range of issues, including these measures and maintaining peace in border areas

MUMBAI: India is engaging in a fine balancing act by hosting defence ministers of both China and Japan, eyeing a multipolar approach in the Indo-Pacific region.

While India and Japan have decided to strengthen strategic relationship through more cooperation in defence tech and conducting a first-ever bilateral army exercise, India is also balancing its ties with China by pursuing confidencebuilding measures to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control.

New Delhi and Beijing will discuss a range of issues, including these measures and maintaining peace in border areas. On Tuesday, Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe arrived in Delhi for a four-day visit. When he visited the PM, Narendra Modi spoke about the increased momentum of high-level contacts between the two countries, including defence and military exchanges.

A recent US Department of Defence report on China’s military warned about that country’s pursuit of territorial claims and referred to the Doklam standoff. On Thursday, Wei will hold talks with defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The two sides will attempt to resolve differences in setting up of a hotline between the armies. Wei’s trip comes after the visit of Japanese defence minister Itsunori Onodera.

At the India-Japan annual Defence Ministerial on Monday, Onodera and Sitharaman spoke of preparing for an exercise in counter-terrorism between Japan Ground Self Defence Force and the Indian Army.