Australia’s foreign minister says Quad in Washington shows ‘steely’ commitment By Reuters
By Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met her Indian and Japanese counterparts in Washington and said the invitation to the Quartet’s foreign ministers to attend the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump showed a “steely commitment” to close cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio appears on track to be confirmed as Trump’s secretary of state on Monday, paving the way for a meeting of Quartet foreign ministers the next day, people familiar with the matter said.
The group of Australia, India, Japan and the US was formed amid shared concerns about China’s growing power.
“It is a demonstration of the collective commitment of all countries to the Quad, a firm commitment at this time when close cooperation in the Indo-Pacific is so important,” Wong said Sunday at the foreign ministers’ invitation to Washington.
Wong said she would also meet with Rubio and other members of the Trump administration, adding that the US alliance was critical to Australia’s defense and economic prosperity.
Wong is expected to discuss the AUKUS Defense Technology Partnership with the US and Britain, a decades-long plan to sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.
She told reporters in Washington that Australia was “on track to increase defense spending”.
“Our focus is very much on how to continue to deliver AUKUS, because we believe that capability is so important to deterrence, and that’s how you can ensure peace,” she said.
Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a radio interview on Monday that AUKUS will ensure that Australia significantly funds the US industrial base to accelerate US production rates for the Virginia-class submarines.
