Photo/Illutration Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, left, meets on Jan. 21 in Washington with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Indian minister of external affairs, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. (Shino Matsuyama)

WASHINGTON--On his first day as U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio attended a gathering with counterparts from Japan, India and Australia where China was the main issue.

Rubio was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Jan. 20.

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) meeting here on Jan. 21 was also attended by Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Indian minister of external affairs.

Rubio reconfirmed the importance of cooperating with allies to counter China’s growing moves in the region and the world, one of the goals of the new Trump administration.

The four nations issued a joint statement, which, while not actually naming China, said, “We also strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.”

The statement said the meeting was held “to reaffirm our shared commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

A Quad summit meeting is planned for later this year to be hosted by India.

The foreign ministers also discussed North Korea.

Iwaya expressed concerns about Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and asked for help in quickly resolving the long-standing issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea.

Iwaya also met separately with Rubio and told reporters, “We agreed to raise the Japan-U.S. alliance to a higher level and to work closely toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Iwaya and Rubio also talked about a visit to the United States by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. However, no  date was set for a meeting with President Donald Trump.

Prior to the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting, Rubio was interviewed by NBC. He told the broadcaster that the meeting would confirm the importance of cooperating with allies from around the world on important issues facing the United States.

(This article was written by Ryo Kiyomiya and Shino Matsuyama.)

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