U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (center) shakes hands with Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (left) and India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during a trilateral meeting held in New York on  Tuesday, Sept. 29./ Source from Yonhap News

1

By Ha Man-joo, India correspondent, AsiaToday - Foreign ministers of the US, Japan, and India agreed to strengthen their collaboration in the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific region on Tuesday, reported an Indian media outlet on Thursday.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, and India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met in New York on Tuesday for their first-ever trilateral ministerial meeting. The three underscored the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight including in the South China Sea, and agreed to work together to maintain maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region through greater collaboration. They agreed that the East Asia Summit is the best place for addressing such issues.

Kerry welcomed Japan's participation in the U.S-India joint naval exercise in mid-October in the Bay of Bengal after eight long years. The three countries met at the US navy base in Yokosuka in Japan in July and agreed to Japan's participation in the naval exercise.
 
The United States has been expressing concerns over China's claim of territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea and its military expansion on the artificial islands at the Fiery Cross and Subi reef. The U.S. has been claiming that the sovereignty in this area should be determined by the United Nations.

Minister Fumio criticized China saying that the country unilaterally raising tensions due to its military-purposed movement, such as massive reclamation in the South China Sea.

Minister Swaraj said, "It's important for China to follow international law as a law-governed country."