US-Japan-India trilateral dialogue to take place in Tokyo

The next round of US-Japan-India trilateral dialogue will start in Tokyo from tomorrow, the State Department has said.

The US delegation would be led by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel.

In addition to participating in the three-day long dialogue, they would also attend the ninth US-India Consultations on East Asia.

Biswal and Russel will meet with both Japanese and Indian government officials to discuss trilateral cooperation and developments in global affairs, the State Department said yesterday.

Biswal will then travel to Canberra and Sydney June 22-23 to meet with officials from the government of Australia and regional experts to share perspectives on the future of the Indo-Pacific region.

The first India-US-Japan trilateral meeting was held in December 2011 at the level of joint secretary. Since then officials of the three countries have been meeting twice a year.

From the US perspective, the dialogue is seen as part of what is described as a policy "pivot" towards Asia and for India it is part of its 'Act East Asia Policy'.