SYDNEY, Australia, September 08, SPA -- Leaders from the United States, Japan and Australia discussed ways to better engage another large democracy, India, at a three-way security meetingSaturday, the Associated Press reported. At the one hour meeting over a breakfast of pastries andfresh fruit, U.S. President George W. Bush and the primeministers of Australia and Japan, John Howard and ShinzoAbe, also talked about China, the Iraq war, North Korea andclimate change. The leaders, who are in Sydney for a separate summit ofPacific Rim economies, arranged their first ever three-waysecurity meeting to deepen ties among the democraticcountries. The countries have two-way alliance agreementsamong them but no formal three-way treaty. «This was an opportunity to talk about a range ofdifferent issues but certainly to focus on India and theimportance of that country to us in the Asia-Pacific regionand to the broader geopolitics of the Asia-Pacificregion,» Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer toldreporters. The U.S., Japan and Australia, joined by frequent partnerSingapore, held a combined military exercise off India'seast coast last week with the Indian defense forces. Thestated purpose of the games was to practice tactics tofight terrorism and piracy but the exercise comes asChina's navy grows more active in the Indian Ocean. In a separate meeting with Abe, Bush praised Japan's navalmission in the Indian Ocean for providing fueling andlogistical support to U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. A lawauthorizing the mission expires in November and Washingtonhas urged Tokyo to renew it. «The role that Japan plays in this fight is a vital role,and it's a necessary role,» Bush said.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/480950