core sector communique

Planning Under Way for U.S.-India-Japan Trilateral Meeting

Washington - U.S. diplomats are meeting with their counterparts from Japan and India to plan an inaugural meeting designed to boost cooperation among the three nations in the Asia-Pacific region, the State Department said November 4.

Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns reaffirmed plans for the U.S.-India-Japan trilateral meeting in a speech November 4, and the department said the hope is to hold the first meeting before 2012.

A cornerstone of the Obama administration's foreign policy has been enhancing and broadening already-strong ties with the Asia-Pacific region and with India, the world's largest democracy. The United States has launched initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region to boost free trade, cultural and academic exchanges and security. In Tokyo October 27, Burns said, "There is no question that our treaty alliance with Japan is the fulcrum for our strategic turn to the Asia-Pacific."

Burns also cited the global nature of the U.S.-Japan alliance. "This is a global partnership. Together we are working to resolve challenges far beyond the ocean and the region we share," he said.

The United States initiated a strategic dialogue with India in 2010, and President Obama visited India in November 2010. The Obama administration has been using strategic partnerships and dialogues for deeper consultations and commitment with select nations. The dialogues are designed to respond to the specific needs of partner nations and enhance cooperation in critical areas.

In a July speech in Chenai, India , Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said of the planned trilateral dialogue, "America's treaty alliance with Japan has long been a cornerstone of security in East Asia, and as a fellow democracy, we believe enhanced cooperation will be beneficial." In that speech, she also said, "We understand that much of the history of the 21st century will be written in Asia, and that much of the future of Asia will be shaped by decisions not only of the Indian government in New Delhi, but of governments across India and, perhaps most importantly, by the 1.3 billion people who live in this country."

"One of the most important aspects of our Asian Pacific strategy is also to work more closely with India and to help put meat on the bones of India's desire to play a prominent role in the Asian-Pacific region going forward," Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said in September.

Deputy Secretary Burns said in the November 4 speech that India's rise will reshape the international system. "India is already a powerful economic and cultural presence in East Asia, and has built a vast network of economic agreements and security arrangements with partners like Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam. India's outreach is growing toward a comprehensive vision for the East Asia region - a 'Look East' policy that is becoming an 'Act East' policy."

Burns added that "an architecture of free trade and investment" that connects India to Southeast Asia and East Asia will have a profound effect on economic growth and global trade.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.)