India agrees with USA, Japan and Australia, to boost free, open Indo-Pacific

Top diplomats of, from left, Japan, India, the United States and Australia pose for photos as they meet in Washington on Jan. 21, 2025, for talks of the grouping known as the Quad. (Pool photo)(Kyodo)

Shri Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Foreign Minister of India agreed with his counterpart Shri Marco Rubio the American Foreign Minister and those from Japan and Australia to strengthen a free and open Indo-Pacific, just hours after Trump’s swearing in as the new President.

Following a meeting of the grouping known as the Quad, the four foreign ministers released a joint statement saying that “the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty, and territorial integrity” should be upheld in the region, where China is increasingly seen as engaging in assertive behaviour.

The meeting in Washington was the first major diplomatic event of the second presidency of Donald Trump, a day after his inauguration.

The discussions of key challenges in the Indo-Pacific among Jaishankar, Rubio Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong could signal that the both Modi and Trump will be more supportive of multilateral cooperation than generally expected.

Iwaya told reporters that “it was very meaningful” that the meeting was a Quad gathering and that the first joint statement was released by the four countries after new U.S. administration taking over.

Iwaya said he believes the Trump administration too places special value on the four-way partnership, noting that they agreed to meet together on a regular basis and prepare for the next summit to be hosted by India.

The statement said the four countries “strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion” and remain committed to reinforcing “regional maritime, economic and technology security in the face of increasing threats.”It did not single out any country.

However, a Japanese official revealed that North Korea was on the agenda.The official disclosed their discussions covered the nuclear issue but added that Rubio did not characterize North Korea as a “nuclear power,” when asked.

On Monday, Trump had described North Korea as a “nuclear power” and said he believes the country’s leader Kim Jong Un should be happy to see his return as “we got along very well” during the U.S. president’s first term.

It was unclear if his description of North Korea marked any departure from Washington’s long-held position of not officially recognizing the country as a nuclear weapons state and aiming for its complete denuclearization.

Rubio, a former Florida senator, has taken a hard-line approach to China that aligns with Trump’s stance. In his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, he said China is “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary” the United States has ever confronted.

Arriving at the State Department for his first day ahead of the meeting, Rubio delivered remarks in which he reminded officials that voters decide the course of the United States and they have elected Trump.

“Our foreign policy is centered on one thing, and that is the advancement of our national interest,” Rubio said, telling them also that “there will be changes” in the way the department operates, but such moves were not meant to be “destructive” or “punitive.”

He stressed that the department needs “to move faster than we ever have, because the world is changing faster than we ever have.”

The Quad was raised to the foreign ministerial level in 2019, when Trump was going through first presidency.

During Joe Biden’s term, the diplomatic partnership of the four democracies got elevated to the leader level in 2021 and USA hosted the first in-person Quad summit in September of that year in Washington.

The Quad’s origins date back to when the four countries coordinated their emergency responses and humanitarian aid following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

Although the Quad is not a security alliance, it has often been regarded as a counterweight to China’s growing influence. Its areas of cooperation have been expanding in recent years, ranging from maritime security and infrastructure to health protection and emerging technologies.

The four countries have repeatedly underscored that they have come together to spread values such as democratic governance and the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, but China has criticized the Quad as an Asian version of NATO aimed at containing its growing influence.

Biden hosted a Quad summit last September in his home state of Delaware, at which the leaders used some of the strongest language ever issued by the group. Without mentioning China by name, they voiced “serious concern” over the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating manoeuvres in the Natuna Sea and West Philippines Sea.

“We condemn the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, including increasing use of dangerous manoeuvres,” they said.

Notable new initiatives announced at the time included the launching of joint coast guard exercises. The move was seen as augmenting the security aspect of the Quad and sending a strong signal to China that its assertive maritime actions against smaller countries such as the Philippines were unacceptable.