Officials from India, the US, Japan, and Australia on Sunday held extensive talks here to pursue common interests in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region where China has been aggressively expanding its military presence.

In the meeting, seen as the first major move in formation of the quadrilateral security dialogue — or ‘quad’, the officials deliberated on evolving security scenario in the Indo-Pacific region besides delving into effectively combating threat of terrorism and other security challenges.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said consultations were held on issues of common interest in the Indo-Pacific region with a focus on cooperation based on converging vision and values for promotion of peace, stability and prosperity in the area. “The discussions focused on cooperation based on their converging vision and values for promotion of peace, stability and prosperity in an increasingly inter-connected region that they share with each other and with other partners,” it said.

The meeting took place ahead of the ASEAN and East Asia summits here for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have already arrived.

“They agreed that a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region serves the long-term interests of all countries in the region and of the world at large. The officials also exchanged views on addressing common challenges of terrorism and proliferation linkages impacting the region as well as on enhancing connectivity,” the MEA said.

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