December 19, 2011

India, Japan, US to meet in Washington on Asia-Pacific
Yashwant Raj

Washington: India, the US and Japan are holding their first trilateral meeting later in the day in Washington in what is being widely seen as a move to coordinate push back against a common competitor — China.

All three countries are seeking to enlarge their respective roles in the Asia-Pacific region, with the US pushing most aggressively. They are members of the East Asia Summit.

The trilateral meeting is being held at the level of officials only — joint secretaries Jawed Ashraf and Gautam Bambwale from India will be meeting counterparts from the US and Japan.

While the three countries will have a lot of talk about trade, economy and nuclear weapons, experts expect China to be the big issue on the table.

At a Track II discussion on the talks in August – hosted by a think-tank Center for Strategic International Studies – participants agreed China was a shared concern.

“The United States, Japan and India share concerns at the rapid pace of China’s military modernization and operations, the lack of transparency in this military build-up, its assertive posture and questions about China’s intentions with respect to territorial disputes, cyberspace, and outer space,” the CSIS said in a statement on the talks, which were off-record.

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