Australia will host a two-day meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) Foreign Ministers.
Sydney:
The Australian government said on Monday that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to Australia in February to meet counterparts from Japan, India and Australia to discuss Indo-Pacific coordination.
The two-day meeting of foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) comes amid concerns from the Biden administration about China, even as tensions with Russia over Ukraine escalate in Europe.
China has previously denounced the Quad as a Cold War build-up and a faction “targeting other countries”.
Australian Foreign Minister Maris Payne did not specify a date for the meeting, but said in a statement that she looked forward to welcoming Quad foreign ministers to Australia in the coming weeks.
“We are an important network of liberal democracies who are collaborating to deliver strategic options to our region, focusing on practical steps to build the resilience and sovereignty of all states,” Payne said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government is deepening Australia’s partnership in the region amid “strategic competition, threats to the liberal international order and growing uncertainty”, he said.
Japanese media previously reported that the quad meeting could be held virtually because of pandemic restrictions around international travel. Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in a tweet on January 27 that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
Canberra officials are hopeful that the timing of the February meeting will allow S Jaishankar to recover and return a negative test.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is also expected to attend.
The Quad Grouping has previously discussed promoting the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, supply chain for semiconductors and technology collaboration in the region. It has also conducted joint naval exercises.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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