U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (second from right) poses for a photo with Indo-Pacific Quartet Ministers, LR, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Australian Foreign Minister Wong Yin-hyun before the State Department meeting in Washington, DC, January 21, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
The United States, Australia, India and Japan renewed their commitment to cooperation on Tuesday as senior diplomats from the China-focused Quad group met for the first time since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
In a joint statement after U.S. Secretary of State Rubio hosted talks in Washington on his first day in office, the four countries said officials would meet regularly to prepare for an upcoming leaders’ summit in India this year.
All four countries are concerned about China’s growing power, and analysts said the meeting was aimed at making it clear that confronting Beijing is a top priority for Trump as he begins his second term on Monday.
Rubio said earlier that during the meeting he would emphasize the importance of working with allies “on things that matter to the United States and Americans.”
Before the State Council meeting, he took photos with Australian Prime Minister Wong Ying-hsien, Indian Prime Minister S Jaishankar and Japanese Prime Minister Takeshi Iwaya in front of the national flags of their respective countries, but did not answer reporters’ questions.
Jaishankar told X after the meeting: “It is worth noting that the Quad meeting (foreign ministers’ meeting) was held within hours of the Trump administration taking office.”
“This underlines its priority in member states’ foreign policies.”
The four countries reaffirmed their “shared commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific region and upholding and defending the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the joint statement said.
“We also strongly oppose any unilateral action that attempts to change the status quo through force or coercion,” the statement said, an apparent reference to China taking action over its claims to democratically governed Taiwan.
The Japanese government said in a later statement that this included the East China Sea, where Japan has territorial disputes with China, and the disputed South China Sea.
Iwaya also expressed concerns at the meeting about North Korea’s nuclear and missile development and asked for help in resolving a dispute with Pyongyang over North Korea’s past abductions of Japanese.
Japanese Foreign Ministry press secretary Toshihiro Kitamura said at a press conference that in another bilateral meeting, Iwaya told Rubio and Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz that considering the security situation in East Asia, Japan had no choice but to can continue to strengthen its defense capabilities.
Japan is undergoing its largest arms buildup since World War II and plans to double defense spending by 2027. Further increase defense spending.
Iwaya also asked Rubio to create an environment where Japanese companies can invest with confidence, he added.
Former US President Joe Biden blocked this month Nippon Steel’s Proposed $14.9 billion purchase United States Steel CorporationCiting national security concerns, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other officials said they regretted the move and expressed concerns about future investments in the United States.
Kitamura said Japan hopes to arrange a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Ishiba sometime in February or March.
Rubio also met with Huang and Jaishankar respectively.
A person involved in planning the meeting said Trump officials are working to arrange another gathering of foreign ministers at the White House.
The Quad met several times during former President Joe Biden’s administration to focus on Beijing’s military and economic activities in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in the South China Sea, where U.S. allies oppose Beijing’s territorial claims.
The group also pledged to advance cybersecurity cooperation to protect supply chains and critical infrastructure, including undersea cables.
A key goal for Australia is to gain assurances from Washington for the massive AUKUS defense program, which aims to give Australia access to nuclear-powered attack submarines and other advanced weapons such as hypersonic missiles, which Trump has yet to comment publicly.
Australian Foreign Minister Huang told a news conference in Washington that she had a “very positive discussion” with Rubio about AUKUS.
China denounces the Quad talks as a relic of the Cold War and says the AUKUS alliance will intensify a regional arms race.
Huang, who met with her Indian and Japanese counterparts in Washington over the weekend, said she also discussed critical minerals with Rubio – an industry where the United States and China are vying for control of supply chains.
“There is great optimism and confidence in the opportunities ahead and I am honored to be involved at this level so early in the new government,” she said.
