At his maiden meeting with external affairs minister S Jaishankar, newly-appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed Trump administration’s desire to advance economic ties with India, and address concerns related to irregular migration, a spokesperson for the top US diplomat said on Tuesday (January 21).
Rubio, 53, opted to have his first bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart, underlining the importance the Trump administration attaches to strengthening ties with India.
He met Jaishankar, 70, at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department, soon after a Quad ministerial meeting.
Rubio “emphasised the Trump administration’s desire to work with India to advance economic ties and address concerns related to irregular migration”, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a readout after the meeting.
The two top diplomats affirmed a shared commitment to continuing to strengthen the India-US partnership, she said.
“They discussed a wide range of topics, including regional issues and opportunities to further deepen the US-India relationship, in particular on critical and emerging technologies, defence cooperation, energy, and on advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” Bruce said.
In a post on X after the meeting, Jaishankar said he was delighted to meet Rubio for his first bilateral meeting after assuming charge as secretary of state.
“Reviewed our extensive bilateral partnership, of which @secrubio has been a strong advocate. Also exchanged views on a wide range of regional and global issues. Look forward to closely working with him to advance our strategic cooperation,” said Jaishankar, who is here at the invitation of the US government to attend the swearing in ceremony of Donald Trump, who was sworn in as the 47th president of the US on Monday.
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Quad meeting
Meanwhile, Rubio kicked off Trump’s foreign policy engagements with a Quad ministerial meeting.
In a move sending a strong signal to China, foreign ministers from the Indo-Pacific Quad countries, India, Australia, Japan and the United States, in a joint statement on Tuesday strongly opposed any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.
The grouping of the four countries has been seen by many as an initiative to counter or at least slow China’s increasing assertiveness and aggressiveness in the region, something over which President Donald Trump and his predecessors have all expressed deep concern.
The timing of Tuesday’s meeting, on Trump’s first full day in office and just hours after Rubio was sworn in as America’s top diplomat, suggests that it will remain a priority for Trump.
US Secretary of State Rubio hosted India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar, Penny Wong from Australia and Japan’s Iwaya Takeshi for his first multilateral meeting as the top American diplomat.
At the conclusion of the meeting that lasted for about an hour, the ministers reconfirmed the Quad Leadership Summit in India later this year.
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Joint statement
“Our four nations maintain our conviction that international law, economic opportunity, peace, stability, and security in all domains, including the maritime domain, underpin the development and prosperity of the people of the Indo-Pacific. We also strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion,” a joint statement issued by the Quad countries said.
“We 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.
“We look forward to advancing the work of the Quad in the coming months and will meet together on a regular basis as we prepare for the next Quad Leaders’ Summit hosted by India,” it added.
The Quad ministers also reaffirmed 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 statement said.
In a post on X, Jaishankar said the meeting sent a clear message that in an uncertain and volatile world, Quad will continue to be a force for global good.
“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. Agreed on the importance of thinking bigger, deepening the agenda and intensifying our collaboration,” Jaishankar said.
However, none of the four foreign ministers, Rubio, Australia’s Penny Wong, S Jaishankar of India, 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.
Robio was to see each of the other three separately after the group meeting.
Birth of Quad
The Quad was established in 2007 to bring together countries that had worked together in response to the devastating 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
Its members stress its diplomatic nature and broad focus on regional issues, including infrastructure, humanitarian aid, disaster relief, climate change and maritime security.
Even though security is only part of the mix, the Quad is a major component of the American strategy to counter China’s growing assertiveness and vast territorial claims in the region, including to virtually all of the strategically important South China Sea and the democratic self-governing island of Taiwan.
The strategic element to the Quad has prompted China to accuse the four countries of attempting to form an “Asian NATO”, though it is a very different construction and has no mutual-defense pact, a key component to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance.
America First policies
During his time in the Senate, Rubio was a “China hawk” and he has been sanctioned by the Chinese government for outspoken remarks about the country’s human rights record, Last week in his confirmation hearing, Rubio called China “the most potent, dangerous and near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted”.
Earlier Tuesday, Rubio made his first appearance at the State Department as secretary of state and called on US diplomats to forcefully defend and execute Trump’s “America First” policies.
“The voters decide the course of our nation, both domestically and abroad, and they have elected Donald J Trump as our president when it comes to foreign policy on a very clear mission,” Rubio told them.
“And that mission is to ensure that our foreign policy is centred on one thing, and that is the advancement of our national interest, which (was) clearly defined through his campaign as anything that makes us stronger or safer or more prosperous. And that will be our mission, that will be our job.”
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