Washington: Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday reaffirmed the importance of the Quad partnership, saying leaders of the United States, India, Japan, and Australia are expected to meet before the end of the year as Washington intensifies its focus on the Indo-Pacific.
Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the State Department’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request, Rubio said the Quad is a key pillar of the administration’s regional strategy, highlighting recent diplomatic engagement among the four nations.
“The Quad, an important alliance in the Indo-Pacific between India, Japan, Australia, we’ve had multiple meetings of that group, including a meeting just last week in India and a follow-up that’s going to occur later this year, including a leaders meeting before the end of the year,” Rubio told lawmakers.
The remarks came as Rubio outlined what he described as major diplomatic achievements during the past 16 to 17 months, ranging from conflict mediation efforts to new economic and security partnerships across several regions.
Rubio’s comments are likely to be closely watched in New Delhi, where the Quad has become an increasingly important framework for cooperation on security, technology, supply chains, and regional stability.
The secretary repeatedly linked the administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy to efforts to reduce dependence on China in critical sectors.
He noted that the United States recently convened a rare-earth ministerial attended by more than 30 countries.
“We held a rare earths ministerial that was attended by over 30-some-odd countries from around the world, all who were signing up for an American-led effort to ensure that critical supplies of rare earth minerals around the world are available for our emerging economies, and we don’t remain overly dependent on China,” Rubio said.
Rubio also highlighted a new initiative known as “Pax Silica”, which he said currently includes 14 member countries cooperating to secure supply chains essential for artificial intelligence technologies.
“These are 14 countries that are cooperating with one another to protect the supply chains critical to AI and AI development in the future,” he said.
In addition, Rubio said Pacific Island nations facing growing pressure from China had received “more attention from this administration than they received in the last 10 years combined”.
(IANS)
