SYDNEY: Australia, the United States, India and Japan are talking about establishing a joint regional infrastructure scheme as an alternative to China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative in an attempt to counter Beijing’s spreading influence, the Australian Financial Review reported on Monday, citing a senior US official. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, asked at a news conference about the report of four-way cooperation, said Japan, the United States, Australia, and India regularly exchanged views on issues of common interest. “It is not the case that this is to counter China’s Belt and Road,” he said. The Indo-Pacific strategy has been endorsed by Washington and is also seen as a counter to the Belt and Road Initiative. The United States, Japan, India and Australia have recently revived four-way talks to deepen security cooperation and coordinate alternatives for regional infrastructure financing to that offered by China.

Source: Pakistan Today February 19, 2018 02:37 UTC