Japan, Australia and India to Discuss Supply Chains Alliance

The trade ministers of Japan, India and Australia will talk Tuesday about developing a plan to strengthen supply chains, following reports that the three nations are looking to work together to counter China’s dominance on trade.

The meeting will discuss detailed plans for shoring up supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region, according to to a Monday statement from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Japan’s Hiroshi Kajiyama, India’s Piyush Goyal and Australia’s Simon Birmingham will attend the video conference Tuesday afternoon, according to the statement.

Read more: Japan, India and Australia Are Said to Seek Supply Chain Pact

The three nations are seeking to build stronger supply chains to counter China’s dominance as trade and geopolitical tensions escalate across the region, Bloomberg reported in August, citing people in Tokyo and New Delhi with knowledge of the matter. The discussions center around creating a “supply chain resilience initiative,” according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media about internal discussions.

Along with the U.S., Japan, Australia and India are members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, a loose grouping for national security consultation. A senior U.S. diplomat said Monday that the U.S. would like to start formalizing that grouping as the base for a broader security alliance in the region.

— With assistance by James Mayger, and Yuko Takeo

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