Article Posted on : - Oct 31, 2012

NEW DELHI (PTI): India, US and Japan together shared their strategic overview of Asia Pacific which included Washington's 'pivot-to-Asia' policy, Iran, China-Japan maritime dispute and the issue of South China Sea.

The three sides also decided to explore the possibility of developmental cooperation in Myanmar, Afghanistan and Africa during the 3rd round of India-US-Japan Trilateral dialogue here last evening.

With this, the three countries have completed the first round of this initiative, a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said.

According to official sources, the US briefed about its much-talked about policy of 'pivot to Asia', an American move driven by the allure of emerging Asian economies, especially China and India.

Another reason is the draw-down of US forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan, which enables the US military to concentrate more resources on Asia-Pacific. The US also talked about Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

Japan briefed about its maritime dispute with China. Discussion on increasing Chinese influence in South China Sea also figured during the trilateral, sources said.

The three sides also explored the possibilities of cooperation in various strategic areas, including piracy and safety of sea lanes in Asia Pacific amidst increasing Chinese assertiveness in the region.

The Japanese delegation was led by Deputy Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Kenji Hiramatsu, the US delegation by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake and the Indian delegation by Joint Secretary (East Asia) Gautam Bambawale.

The trilateral came ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo on November 15 for the bilateral Summit.