Marco Rubio Holds His First Quad Ministerial Meeting; Warns China
Marco Rubio was sworn in as the US Secretary of State and held his first Quad Ministerial Meeting with India, Japan, and Australia. Rubio met with his counterparts Australia’s Penny Wong, India’s Subramanyam Jaishankar and Japan’s Takeshi Iwaya in Washington.
The four parties issued a joint statement and restated their ‘shared commitment to strengthen a Free and Open Indo-Pacific where the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity are upheld and defended”.
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In the meeting, the leaders, objected to any coercive or forceful actions to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific.
The ministers confirmed to hold a Quad summit earlier scheduled for this year in India, which would mean an early trip by Trump to the growing US partner often viewed in Washington as a bulwark against China.
India’s FM Jaishankar shared highlights of the meeting on ‘X’ and called the Quad ministerial meeting as significant as the Quad FMM meeting took place within hours of the inaugration of the Trump Administration. ‘This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states’.
Attended a productive Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting today in Washington DC. Thank @secrubio for hosting us and FMs @SenatorWong & Takeshi Iwaya for their participation.
Significant that the Quad FMM took place within hours of the inauguration of the Trump Administration. This… pic.twitter.com/uGa4rjg1Bw
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) January 21, 2025
Key Facts About QUAD
- Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) was proposed by then-Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in 2007 but fell dormant for almost a decade.
- It was Resurrected in 2017 on the sidelines of ASEAN Summit.
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- QUAD consists of four countries – India, Australia, Japan, and the US.
- It aims to support an open, free, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
- India’s participation in the QUAD aligns with its ‘Act East’ Policy.
- India to host the QUAD summit next year in 2025.
