Rubio Plans Quad Talks With India as Xi’s U.S. Visit Approaches
Washington–U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to meet representatives from India and other Quad nations during an upcoming Southeast Asia trip, as Washington and Beijing prepare for a possible U.S. visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September.
Rubio said the ASEAN Summit would be the main focus of his trip but would also provide opportunities for bilateral and regional discussions.
“This summit, ASEAN, is our primary way of engaging the region. We’re committed to it,” Rubio told reporters at Joint Base Andrews. “We’ll also have meetings with the Quad of India, Australia, Japan, and ourselves.”
Rubio also plans to participate in a trilateral meeting with South Korea and Japan. He could meet Vietnam’s foreign minister and officials from several other countries during the visit.
The secretary is also expected to meet the Philippine president during his first trip to the Philippines since taking office.
“So it’s a long way to go,” Rubio said. “But it’s an important forum for us.”
Rubio did not rule out meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN gathering.
“I’m not sure we’ve finalised that, but we’d be open to meeting with him, sure,” he said.
Asked whether he would raise President Donald Trump’s claim of Chinese interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Rubio declined to discuss potential topics.
“I would never tell you guys in a press conference what we would raise in meetings like that. Those are delicate matters,” he said.
Rubio said preparations were continuing for an anticipated September visit by Xi to the United States.
“We anticipate that the trip is happening in September,” Rubio said. “They’ve continued to send over their teams to prepare for it, and I’ve heard nothing otherwise. I have no reason to believe that they won’t be coming.”
Although Washington and Beijing will continue to disagree on several issues, Rubio said the two major powers have a responsibility to maintain communication.
“When you have two big, powerful countries like the United States and China, there are always going to be irritants, there are always going to be things we don’t agree on,” he said. “But I think it’s incumbent on powerful and important countries like ours to continue to talk and have a relationship.”
“We owe it to each other and for our people and to the world,” Rubio added.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the Quad, includes India, the United States, Japan and Australia. The group works together on maritime security, critical technologies, infrastructure, public health and disaster relief.
ASEAN consists of 10 Southeast Asian countries. India and the United States participate in ASEAN-led forums, including the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum. (Source: IANS)
