India, Japan to begin talks on logistics agreement soon

India and Japan will soon negotiate a logistics sharing deal that would allow their armed forces to share military facilities, sources said here on Thursday.

The logistics pact, called Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), is expected to enhance the strategic depth of bilateral security and defence cooperation between the two countries. The deal is also seen as a way to counter China's expanding presence in the Indian Ocean.

Negotiations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the logistics agreement took place during the former's visit to Japan in October.

While the deal will not only allow the navies of the two nations to cooperate with greater interoperability, it will also allow them to have access to their respective ports and bases.

In November, India and Japan conducted their first land-based joint military exercise.