On April 23, Tokyo will host the second India-Japan-U.S. trilateral dialogue, the first such meeting after Washington announced its strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific in January 12, 2012. The participants will share their perceptions on China, discuss the regional security architecture, particularly maritime security, and the prospects for co-operating in keeping open sea lanes of communications in the face of Chinese claims.
They will also discuss ways of cooperating in the East Asia Summit, an increasingly powerful regional body. In 2005, Japan had lobbied successfully for including India in the East Asia Summit. Last year, the U.S. (and Russia) also joined the summit for the first time. The inaugural dialogue, which had upset Beijing, was held in December last year in Washington.