WASHINGTON - The United States is to host the first trilateral talks with Japan and India to discuss "a range of Asia Pacific regional issues," the US State Department announced on Monday.

The meeting, which will be at the assistant-secretary level, is scheduled to be held in Washington on December 19, said State Department spokesman Mark Toner at his daily news briefing.

"And this meeting is going to be an opportunity to hold comprehensive discussion on a range of Asia Pacific regional issues," he said.

Asked why India, an Indian Ocean country that has no border with Pacific Ocean, is invited to the meeting as one of the "Pacific democracies," Toner only answered by saying that "this is a chance for us to discuss regional issues."

In response to a question that why Australia was not invited to the meeting, Toner explained that it "isn't all-inclusive."

Experts said the move is believed to be part of current US efforts to carry out its "pivoting to Asia" policy, which aims at consolidating the US predominance in Asia.