India, US, Australia and Japan held meeting: growing Chinese military presence in Indo-Pacific region on cards

Manila, November 13: India, the United States, Australia and Japan held a quadrilateral meeting on the sidelines of ASEAN summit on Saturday to pursue common interests in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region.

 

Notably, the officials from India, Australia, Japan and the United States met in Manila on the sidelines of ASEAN summit to pursue common interests in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region where China has been aggressively expanding its military presence. The discussions mainly focused on cooperation based on their converging vision and values for the promotion of peace, stability and prosperity in an increasingly inter-connected region that they share with each other and with other partners.

All the four countries also agreed that a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region serves the long-term interests of all countries in the region and of the world at large. The officials further exchanged views on addressing common challenges of terrorism and proliferation linkages impacting the region as well as on enhancing connectivity. The Indian side, meanwhile, highlighted India’s Act East Policy as the cornerstone of its engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.

Importantly, the move of the quadrilateral meeting comes in the backdrop of growing Chinese military presence in the South China Sea. However, China has already reacted to the proposal of a quadrilateral meeting, saying it hopes it would not target or damage a "third party's interest".