Noda's India tour part of strategy to build alliances

BEIJING - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda left Beijing for New Delhi on Tuesday to kick off a three-day visit to India, where he will attend the sixth annual India-Japan summit.

Boosting ties with India is part of Japan's strategy of strengthening alliances with Asia-Pacific nations with an eye on China, analysts said.

Noda's recent visit to Beijing was aimed at improving ties that were jeopardized by a maritime incident in which a Chinese trawler collided with a Japanese coast guard vessel in September 2010.