Quad Meet Says Committed to Regional Maritime Security

IN the first major diplomatic event of the second Donald Trump presidency, Quad countries opposed any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion while reaffirming their shared commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific.

- JAYANTH JACOB @ New Delhi

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday hosted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, his counterpart Penny Wong from Australia and Japan's Takeshi Iwaya for his first multilateral meeting as the top American diplomat at the US State Department.

After an hour-long huddle in Washington, the foreign ministers of the grouping, meant to have a countervailing impact on the aggressive Chinese behavior, said in a joint statement that they are "committed to strengthening regional maritime, economic, and technology security in the face of increasing threats, as well as promoting reliable and resilient supply chains."