Rubio to host foreign ministers of Quad member states next week

(Patria) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host the foreign ministers of Australia, India and Japan on July 1 to bolster efforts to secure a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the State Department said, Reuters reported.

Rubio hosted a meeting of the China-focused Quad group in his first diplomatic engagement as secretary of state on January 21, a day after President Donald Trump began his second term.

“This summit builds on that momentum to advance a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region,” said Tommy Pigott, deputy spokesman for the State Department, at a regular press briefing. “This is what American leadership, strength, peace and prosperity looks like.”

In January, the Quad ministers reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation and said officials would meet regularly to prepare for the upcoming leaders' summit in India, expected later this year.

The four countries share concerns about China's growing power, and analysts said the January meeting was designed to signal that countering Beijing is a top priority for Trump.

However, Trump has since been distracted by wars in the Middle East and failed efforts to end the war in Ukraine, while relations with Quad partners have been strained by his global tariff offensive from which no member has been spared.

This week, the prime ministers of Japan and Australia, as well as other U.S. Indo-Pacific countries, did not attend the NATO summit in Europe, raising questions about future regional cooperation.

Last week, the Financial Times (FT) reported that Japan canceled an annual ministerial meeting with the U.S. State Department and Defense Department on July 1 after Washington called on Tokyo to increase defense spending more than previously requested.

The FT said the request was made by Elbridge Colby, the third-highest Pentagon official, who recently also upset Australia by launching a review of a massive project to equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.