Quadrilateral talks involving India not about containing China, says US

Tokyo: A top official of President Donald Trump's entourage here on Sunday asserted that the United States' proposed quadrilateral dialogue with India, Japan and Australia is 'certainly' not about containing China.

Responding to a media query, the White House official said the proposed strategic dialogue between the four nations is not about containing China.

The reaction comes hours after the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it hoped the 'quadrilateral meeting' would not target a 'third party' interest.

The US official said neither America nor Australia or Japan have a security alliance with India.

"India is an increasingly important security partner, no doubt.

“It's natural that they should be, given that they are really, sort of, conceptually the western edge of the Indo-Pacific region, the United States making up the eastern edge of that.

"On the question of cooperation between allies and partners, the US is always talking very closely, from the leader level all the way down to our close allies, Australia and Japan," the official added.

The State Department had said last month that the United States was looking to offer countries in the Indo-Pacific region an alternative to predatory financing or unsustainable debt.

The Trump administration also defended the use of 'Indo-Pacific' phrase instead of 'Asia Pacific', saying it captures the importance of the rise of India.

"We have strong and growing ties with India. We talk about 'Indo-Pacific' in part because that phrase captures the importance of India's rise," the official said.

"It (Indo-Pacific) captures the importance of the maritime free commons that allow our security and our prosperity to continue," the official added.

President Donald Trump arrived here on Sunday as part of his 9-day tour of Asia during which he will also visit South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

En route to Japan on Air Force One, President Trump ramped up his tough rhetoric against North Korea, saying the United States and its allies are prepared to defend freedom and 'no dictator' should underestimate the US resolve.

He told reporters that North Korea would figure prominently in discussions during the trip.

After Japan, he will head to South Korea, China, and Vietnam where he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Danang. He is also likely to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Vietnam.

His final engagement will be a summit of South-East Asian nations in the Philippine capital, Manila.

(With agency inputs)