Quad Ministers Meet in DC as Trump Returns to Office

In its first foreign policy engagement, the Donald Trump administration hosted a meeting of Quad foreign ministers where the U.S., Japan, India, and Australia committed to strengthening "maritime, economy, and technology security in the face of increasing threats," expressed their goal of a "free and open Indo-Pacific," and agreed to "think bigger, deepen the agenda and intensify cooperation."

- Prashant Jha

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With a clear eye on China, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya also opposed any "unilateral actions that sought to change the status quo by force or coercion" and agreed to strengthen supply chain resilience and reliability. They emphasized the principles of rule of law, democracy, sovereignty, territorial integrity, international law, economic opportunity, and peace, stability, and security, especially in the maritime domain.

The four foreign ministers met on the eighth floor of the State Department in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday afternoon eastern, in what was Rubio's first official engagement as Secretary of State.

On X, Jaishankar termed the meeting "productive." "Significant that the Quad FMM took place within hours of the inauguration of the Trump Administration. This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states. Our wide-ranging discussions addressed different dimensions of ensuring a free, open, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific."

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday at the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., Jaishankar said that the timing of the meeting was itself a "message." "For Secretary Rubio and Minister Iwaya, it was the first Quad meeting that they were attending. There was an animated exchange of ideas. The sentiment in the room was Quad is a collaborative activity. It is important to keep adding substance and do more and more."