With China in focus, Rubio hosts Quad meetings on first day as US secretary of state

Just hours after being sworn in as US secretary of state on Tuesday, Marco Rubio brought his attention to strengthening strategic alliances in the Indo-Pacific. On his first day in the job, he convened a meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – a security dialogue formed to counter China’s influence in the region – involving the bloc’s foreign ministers in Washington, followed by bilateral talks with those envoys from India, Japan and Australia. Rubio’s meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was his first as US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat. Jaishankar was in Washington after attending the presidential inauguration on Monday on New Delhi’s behalf. Traditionally, the first foreign outreach of a new American administration is either with a neighbour – Canada or Mexico – or with an ally from Nato, the 32-nation transatlantic defence pact. Without naming China, the joint statement issued by the Quad members stated their “strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion”. It went on to reaffirm their “shared commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific where the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity are upheld and defended”. Jaishankar described the meeting as “productive”, noting it was “significant” that the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting “took place within hours” of Trump’s inauguration. “This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states,” he said on social media after the meeting, adding that it “sends a clear message that in an uncertain and volatile world, the Quad will continue to be a force for global good”. Jaishankar said that “wide-ranging discussions addressed different dimensions of ensuring a free, open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Agreed on the importance of thinking bigger, deepening the agenda and intensifying our collaboration.” On Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Unleashing American Energy,” instructing Rubio to “consider opportunities to advance the mining and processing of minerals within the United States through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue”. The issue was expected to have come up during the meeting. The area of critical minerals is currently dominated by China. Last year, Beijing imposed restrictions on the export of some critical minerals to the US, citing national security, after Washington banned the export of crucial technologies to China. Experts said that by choosing the Quad as his initial focal point, Rubio underscored the Trump administration’s emphasis on maintaining a strategic balance in Asia, particularly in light of China’s expanding economic and military footprint. Led by the US, the Quad was originally formed in 2004 but remained dormant until 2017. It was revived during Trump’s first term as a group of democracies pushing back against an “autocratic” China. The alliance was elevated to the leaders’ level under US president Joe Biden in 2021. Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Rubio said that his first priority would be “furthering the national interest” of the US and “the promotion of peace”. “Of course, peace through strength, and always without abandoning our values,” he said. Before joining the Trump administration, Rubio was a long-time member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees, and has been a vocal critic of Beijing. He has consistently supported stronger relations with India as part of the US strategy to counter China in the Indo-Pacific. The relationship between Beijing and New Delhi has remained strained over the years because of their historical border dispute. In July, Rubio introduced the US-India Defence Cooperation Act in the Senate, legislation intended to elevate India’s strategic status and grant it access to advanced US military technology, on par with close allies such as Japan, Israel, South Korea and Nato partners. “Communist China continues to aggressively expand its domain in the Indo-Pacific region, all while it seeks to impede the sovereignty and autonomy of our regional partners,” Rubio said in announcing the bill, which died in the Senate without action being taken. Sarang Shidore of the Quincy Institute, a think tank in Washington, said that “with Trump, the focus is certainly going to be even more on the security side” compared with Biden, under whom Quad countries also cooperated on issues like health and climate. Shidore said the Rubio-Jaishankar meeting showcased “enormous continuity” in the US approach toward New Delhi. “I think the fact that the Trump administration is going to continue to invest in the Quad is clear, and India’s centrality in the Quad is also quite clear,” he said. In September, Quad countries expanded their cooperation in maritime security, announcing a plan for joint coastguard operations. Under the initiative, personnel from Australia, Japan and India will spend time aboard US Coast Guard vessels. The countries also revealed plans to enhance military logistics cooperation.

With China in focus, Rubio hosts Quad meetings on first day as US secretary of state

First meeting of Trump presidency for security group focused on Indo-Pacific voices opposition to altering status quo ‘by force or coercion’