Talks with US, Japan not directed at China: India

A week after it held the first trilateral meeting with the US and Japan, India on Monday said it was not directed against any third country and clarified that Beijing has not voiced any reservations over the exercise.

A week after it held the first trilateral meeting with the US and Japan, India on Monday said it was not directed against any third country and clarified that Beijing has not voiced any reservations over the exercise.

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"The trilateral is not aimed at an any third country. It is aimed at leveraging opportunities for cooperation among the three countries," Gautam Bambawale, joint secretary for East Asia in the external affairs ministry, told reporters in New Delhi.

China has not raised any issues with us (over the trilateral), he added in response to queries whether the trilateral was aimed at China.

The next trilateral meeting will be held in Tokyo in 2012.

The trilateral cooperation will be among a host of global issues Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will discuss with Japanese Premier Yoshihiko Noda during their official talks in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The first trilateral meeting was held by senior officials of the three countries in Washington last week amid reports that Beijing was upset with the move and allegedly saw it as a strategy to contain its rise in Asia.

"These discussions mark the beginning of a series of consultations among our three governments, who share common values and interests across the Asia-Pacific and the globe," the Indian embassy in US said in a statement.