Sushma Swaraj may meet US and Japanese counterparts

NEW DELHI: Amid prevailing tension between India and China, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj may hold a meeting with her American and Japanese counterparts in New York next month, aiming to hedge Beijing’s aggressive foreign policy in the region.

All three sides are planning to schedule a second trilateral meeting between Swaraj, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York end-September, according to a person familiar with the development.

The idea is to give more momentum to India-Japan-US trilateral cooperation, and send out a message to Beijing for its policies in Indo-Pacific region including attempts to unilaterally change status quo along the disputed boundaries. In Swaraj’s trilateral talks with Tillerson and Kono in New York next month, New Delhi is likely to focus on stepping up India-Japan-US maritime security cooperation.

Swaraj, Tillerson’s predecessor John Kerry and Kono’s predecessor Fumio Kishida held the first such trilateral in New York in September 2015. The meeting among Swaraj, Kerry and Kishida in New York in September 2015 marked the elevation of the dialogue.