Rubio starts as US top diplomat with Quad meeting

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The United States, Australia, India and Japan recommitted to working together on Tuesday, after the first meeting of the Quad grouping's top diplomats since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. In a joint statement after the talks in Washington, hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first day in the job, the four nations said officials would meet regularly to prepare for an upcoming leaders' summit in India, expected this year. Rubio earlier said he said would stress the importance of working with allies "on the things that are important to America and Americans" during the meeting. He posed with Australia's Penny Wong, India's Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Japan's Takeshi Iwaya in front of the flags of their countries before the meeting at the State Department, but did not respond to questions from reporters. "Significant that the Quad (foreign ministers' meeting) took place within hours of the inauguration of the Trump Administration," Jaishankar said on X after the meeting. "This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states." The four nations restated 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," the joint statement said. "We also strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion," it said. Rubio also met separately with the three foreign ministers on Tuesday. Australia's Foreign Minister Wong told a news conference in Washington she had a "very positive discussion" with Rubio on Aukus, a trilateral security partnership that also involves the UK. China has denounced the Quad as a Cold War construct and a political tool for the US to contain China and maintain its hegemony. Beijing has also said the Aukus alliance would intensify a regional arms race and undermine peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. (Reuters)