The United States, Japan and India held a meeting in Hawaii on Friday to discuss maritime security and other issues, Kyodo News quoted the US State Department as saying on Saturday.

The three countries appear to have discussed trilateral cooperation to ensure maritime security at a time of China's growing assertiveness at sea.

The seventh trilateral dialogue since 2011 to discuss a broad range of issues was co-chaired by assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs Nisha Biswal and assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Daniel Russel.