Overview
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host Australia’s, India’s and Japan’s foreign ministers on July 1 to reaffirm a free and open Indo-Pacific, the State Department announced.
- The session follows Rubio’s January 21 meeting that marked his first diplomatic engagement as secretary and seeks to prepare for a leaders’ summit in New Delhi.
- President Trump has accepted an invitation to attend the Quad leaders’ summit in India later this year, underscoring US commitment to the partnership.
- Friction over Trump’s global tariff measures prompted Japan to cancel a scheduled US-Japan ministerial on July 1 in response to US demands for higher Japanese defense spending.
- Tensions have also risen after senior Pentagon official Elbridge Colby launched a review of Australia’s planned nuclear-powered submarine project.