Australia willing to participate in 'quadrilateral dialogue' with India, US and Japan; talks likely on ASEAN Summit sidelines

Australia has expressed its willingness to participate in the dialogue between four countries, according to several media reports.

The Indian Express reported that Australia was the last of the four countries to comment on the “quadrilateral dialogue” with India, Japan and US, likely to take place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Philippines on 13-14 November.

The report also said that the Indian government has got the “necessary positive feedback” from its partners over the past week.

“There is some level of enthusiasm to the dialogue… all four sides will have to flesh out the details and arrange a meeting of the key interlocutors. We may start at official level and take it up the hierarchy… ministerial-level, could even be at leaders’ level (president/ prime ministers). Let’s see how this plays out,” the report quoted the source as saying.

In the last week of October, the United States said it wanted a meeting soon aimed at reviving a four-way dialogue between itself, Japan, India and Australia to deepen security cooperation and coordinate alternatives for regional infrastructure financing to that offered by China.

The so-called “Quad” to discuss and cooperate on security emerged briefly as an initiative a decade ago: Much to the annoyance of China, which saw it as an attempt by regional democracies to contain its advances.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono had proposed reviving the forum, which he said he had discussed with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Manila in August.

According to Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, the purpose would be to secure a peaceful maritime zone from Asia to Africa.

It said Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe would officially propose the dialogue partnership to US president Donald Trump on 6 November, when the US leader visits Japan as part of an Asia tour that will also see him visit China.

With inputs from Reuters