India on Thursday joined Australia, Japan and the United States to discuss the future of Asia-Pacific region as an inclusive space. Senior officials of the four countries held the discussion in Singapore.
“The participants reaffirmed their support for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific Region. They also confirmed their common commitment, based on shared values and principles, to promote a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific,” a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The statement indicates the discomfort of the various stakeholders with China’s bid to alter the status quo in the South China Sea, that is interpreted as a hurdle to freedom of maritime and air movements.