Rubio Heads to Philippines for ASEAN and Quad Meetings

New Delhi–U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has departed for the Philippines to attend ASEAN meetings and hold talks with foreign ministers from the Quad nations.

U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said he was looking forward to the second Quad ministerial meeting of the year and reaffirmed Washington’s support for a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“Looking forward to joining Marco Rubio this week in the Philippines for our second Ministerial Quad meeting of the year. The United States is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific, our Quad partners are essential,” Gor wrote on X.

The Quad includes India, Australia, Japan and the United States. The four countries cooperate on regional security, economic resilience and other initiatives intended to support a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

During his visit, Rubio will attend the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. He will also meet senior officials from Indo-Pacific countries, according to State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott.

“The Secretary’s visit advances a clear U.S. priority: a free and open Indo-Pacific that delivers safety, security, and prosperity for the region and for the American people. Secretary Rubio will use this trip to demonstrate the tangible results of US-ASEAN partnership and to deepen the United States’ comprehensive partnership with the Philippines,” Pigott said.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi participated in the previous Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in May.

The ministers reaffirmed their support for a free and open Indo-Pacific and agreed to expand cooperation through initiatives intended to deliver practical benefits across the region.

“We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. We reiterate our strong opposition to any destabilising or unilateral actions, including by force or coercion, that threaten peace and stability in the region,” the ministers said in a joint statement following the meeting.

They also raised concerns about interference with offshore resource development, restrictions on freedom of navigation and overflight, and unsafe actions by military aircraft, coast guard vessels and maritime militias in the South China Sea.

“We are seriously concerned by the militarisation of disputed features,” the statement said. (Source: IANS)