NEW DELHI: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was to meet Tuesday with Australia, India and Japan to revive the so-called Quad security alliance — viewed suspiciously by China — following disagreement on Iran and questions over US commitment.
The meeting in New Delhi comes 10 days after US President Donald Trump paid a friendly state visit to China and spoke glowingly of the two powers working together as a “G2” — a concept that the US allies who are concerned about Beijing’s rise fear could shut them out.
Rubio took the symbolic step of meeting Quad foreign ministers in Washington within hours of being sworn in last year, and the four gathered again in Washington in July 2025.
But a Quad summit expected last year did not happen, with Trump not committing to travel to India for it, despite his predecessor Joe Biden’s vow that the four-way leaders’ summits would be “here to stay.”
Rubio, who is paying his first visit to India, said he hoped to lay the groundwork for a Quad summit involving Trump.
