Defence Minister Kevin Andrews has flagged the revival of controversial four-way naval drills with the United States, India and Japan in a clear signal Australia is pushing back against growing Chinese assertiveness towards its neighbours.

In what could stoke fears in Beijing of a "containment" strategy, Mr Andrews said during a visit to India this week that Australia would be keen to take part in such exercises, which were tried in 2007 but shelved after China reacted badly.

A Chinese missile frigate takes part in exercises conducted by the Singaporean and Chinese navies in the South China Sea earlier this year. Credit:Xinhua

Mr Andrews told an audience during a question and answer session in Delhi that it had been "a mistake" for the then Labor government to pull out of a so-called quadrilateral defence dialogue and naval drill.

"It's not the outlook of the current government," he said. "If we were to be invited by India to observe or to participate in such an exercise in the future, it would be the clear disposition of both myself and the government to accept that invitation."