New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo and conveyed to him that India'sdecision to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir will benefit the peopleof the region.

Officials here said Singh also told Abe that Pakistan has nolocus standi on Jammu and Kashmir and that it is an integral part of India.Duringhis wide-ranging talks with Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya, Singh alsomentioned the cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan and said talksand terror cannot go hand-in-hand, they said.

The defence minister is on a five-day tour of Japan andSouth Korea. On Tuesday, he will leave for Seoul from Tokyo.

In the annual Indo-Japan defence ministerial talks, the twosides discussed ways to further strengthen the existing bilateral defencecooperation and resolved to adopt new initiatives towards achieving peace andsecurity in the region, officials said.

"Had an extremely fruitful ministerial level dialoguewith Japan's Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Tokyo. We discussed the fullspectrum of India-Japan defence cooperation," Singh tweeted.

The officials said the two sides also deliberated on theoverall situation in the Indo-Pacific region where China has been increasing itsmilitary presence.

"The lndo-Pacific vision was discussed at length withan expression of India's preference for a rules-based order along withcentrality of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and inclusivenessand security for all," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

India, Japan and the US have been part of the annual Malabarmaritime exercise which is aimed at achieving greater inter-operability amongthe navies of the three countries.

The ministry said the importance of the special strategicand global partnership between India and Japan in addressing regional peace,security and stability was also highlighted during the talks."Furthermore, the two ministers had a free and frank discussion on theemerging regional security scenario," it added.

The ministry said the defence minister also "discussedabrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and said talks andcross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan cannot go together."Singh termed his meeting with Abe "excellent".

"India attaches the highest priority to our bilateralrelationship with Japan. I conveyed to him the government of India's commitmentto further enhance the defence engagements between both the countries," hetweeted.

He also said that regular interactions between PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and Abe put the special strategic and global partnershipbetween India-Japan on a higher pedestal.

"It has added a new strategic depth to our defencecooperation," he said.

In South Korea, Singh will have a bilateral dialogue withJeong Kyeong-Doo, Minister of National Defence. He will also call on SouthKorean Prime Minister Lee Nak-Yon.

A CEO's Forum followed by a Business-to-Government (B2G)meeting will also be held in Seoul with the participation of members of defenceindustry from both sides with the aim to encourage India-ROK defence industrycooperation.

"The focus of the visit to South Korea will be toexplore new areas of defence cooperation including co-development of militaryhardware," the official said.

Modi had visited South Korea in February during which boththe countries decided to strengthen strategic ties.