TRILATERAL DIALOGUE

• India, Japan and the US held their third trilateral dialogue in New Delhi to expand cooperation in maritime security and other vital strategic areas.

 DELEGATION:

• Indian: Gautam Bambawale  (Joint secretary in-charge of East Asia in the External Affairs Ministry)
• US: Robert Blake (Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia)
• Japanese: Kenji Hiramatsu (Deputy Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs)

AGENDA:

• The three countries, projected as the three leading Pacific democracies, are expected to discuss issues related to maritime security, anti-piracy cooperation and intensified consultations on a cluster of regional issues, including the flux in Afghanistan and Myanmar.

 TALKING POINT:

•  China’s aggressive posturing on the South China Sea
• Three countries have decided to work in a combined manner for the development of war-torn Afghanistan, Myanmar and the African Continent.

 ABOUT TRILATERALS:

• The trilaterals are a forum used by the US to obtain a consensus in small groups of friendly countries. The US-Japan-Australia trilateral has been in existence for five years, while the ones on Afghanistan are beginning to proliferate as the 2014 deadline for the drawdown of western troops from the country draws closer. Interestingly, India has shown interest in a U.S.-China-India dialogue in which trade and investment related issues could be primarily discussed.