Japan, India may move to counter China's 'Belt and Road Initiative'

New Delhi: In a major move that could act as a counter to Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region and offer alternatives to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), India on Friday said it was open to a Japanese proposal for a quadrilateral strategic dialogue that will include the two countries as well as the United States and Australia. 

Of the four countries, Japan and Australia are declared allies of the US. India said it is “open to working with like-minded countries on issues that advance our interests and promote our viewpoint” and added that it was “not rigid in this regard”. 

New Delhi said it was already a part of various trilateral initiatives. According to a Reuters report from Tokyo on Thursday, Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono told a business daily that Tokyo proposed a strategic dialogue among leaders of the United States, India and Australia. 

“We are in an era when Japan has to exert itself diplomatically by drawing a big strategic picture,” Kono was quoted as saying. “To maintain free and open ocean, the economy and security will surely be on the table,” he had said, adding that the aim was to also promote high-quality infrastructure investment across Asia to Africa.

When asked about the Japanese proposal on such a quadrilateral dialogue, the MEA said, “India is open to working with like-minded countries on issues that advance our interests and promote our viewpoint.  We are not rigid in this regard. Because of our broad acceptability as a country, there are a number of such initiatives which is trilateral in nature. 

India had boycotted the BRI conference in Beijing in May this year after saying its “core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity” — regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir — had been “ignored”.