The new secretary of state met with his counterparts from Australia, India, and Japan after being sworn in Tuesday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Quad counterparts - India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Japan's Takeshi Iwaya, and Australia's Penny Wong - at the US Department of State here on Tuesday.
On his first full day as US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio is engaging with the Quad — comprising the US, India, Japan, and Australia — aiming to strengthen diplomatic ties and counter China’s rising influence.
The Quad ministerial meeting of Australia, India, Japan, and the US focused on countering China's influence and maintaining a free Indo-Pacific.
After the Quad ministerial, Rubio had his first bilateral with Jaishankar, which lasted for more than an hour. India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Kwatra, was also present in the meeting. Jaishankar also met National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Tuesday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio began his tenure with a focus on the Indo-Pacific Quad, meeting with leaders from Australia, India, and Japan. The Quad aims to counter China's growing regional influence.
The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Sen. Marco Rubio's as secretary of state on Monday, making him the first member of President Donald Trump's second Cabinet.
However, none of the four foreign ministers — Rubio, Australian Penny Wong, Indian S. Jaishankar or Japanese Iwaya Takeshi — spoke as they opened their meeting at the State Department. Instead they stood silent and expressionless in front of their respective flags before journalists were ushered out.
Newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hitting the ground running Tuesday with meetings with his counterparts in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the Quad, which
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first full day in office Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) warned jointly with Japan, India and
Analysts have said the meeting is designed to signal that countering Beijing is a top priority for Mr Trump. Read more at straitstimes.com.