US Secretary Of State Meets With Members From Australia, India And Japan To Discuss China's Strength

Meeting of US Foreign Ministers, Australia, India and Japan in Washington/PHOTO via Instagram @senatorpennywong

JAKARTA - The United States, Australia, India, and Japan are committed to strengthening again after the first meeting of high diplomats from the "Quad" group focused on China since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

In a joint statement after talks in Washington held by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the four countries said officials would meet regularly to prepare for a summit of future leaders in India.

The four countries share the same concern about China's growing power. Analysts said the meeting was designed to signal against Beijing was Trump's top priority, starting his second term on Monday.

Rubio had previously said he stressed the importance of working with allies "on important matters for America" during the meeting.

He took a photo with Penny Wong from Australia, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar from India, and Takeshi Iwaya from Japan in front of their country's flag before a meeting at the State Department, but did not respond to questions from journalists.

"The importance of Quad (meeting of foreign ministers) comes within hours of the Trump administration's inauguration," Jaishankar said in X after the meeting was reported by Reuters, Wednesday, January 22.

"This underscores the priorities it has in its foreign policy of its member countries," he continued.

The four countries reiterated their joint commitment to strengthening a Free and Open Indo-Pacific in which the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty, and territorial integrity is upheld and maintained, the joint statement said.

"We are also strongly against any unilateral action seeking to change the status quo with violence or coercion," he said, clearly referring to China's threat to act based on its claim of sovereignty over democratically ruled Taiwan.

This includes the East China Sea, where Japan is involved in regional disputes with China, and in the contested South China Sea, the Japanese government said in a subsequent statement.

Iwaya also expressed concern about North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and missiles at the meeting and asked for help in resolving disputes with Pyongyang over the kidnapping of Japanese citizens by North Korea in the past.

In a separate bilateral meeting, Iwaya told Rubio and Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, Japan had no choice but to continue to strengthen its defense capabilities given the security situation in East Asia.