India, Australia, Japan discuss maritime security, counter-terrorism

India, Australia and Japan on Wednesday stressed the need for greater collaboration on maritime security and domain awareness and disaster response capabilities.

Renewing their resolve to fight the scourge of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, the three countries also stressed the need for enhanced cooperation on counter-terrorism.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar hosted the 4th India-Australia-Japan trilateral meeting with his Australian and Japanese counterparts in New Delhi.

The three countries also discussed the economic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and underscored their shared commitment to peace, democracy, economic growth and a rules-based order in the region.

They emphasised their support for ASEAN centrality in the political and security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region and deliberated on strengthening regional connectivity as well.

The Japanese Vice Minister proposed to host the next round of this trilateral dialogue in Tokyo.

Earlier on Tuesday, India and Australia reviewed all aspects of bilateral ties during the inaugural '2+2 dialogue' and agreed that a "free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific is in the long-term interests of all countries in the region."

The '2+2 dialogue' format, which was first proposed by then Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott during his 2014 India visit, comes a month after the two countries, along with the U.S. and Japan, held a quadrilateral security dialogue in Manila.

On Monday, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj held the 15th Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.