Sydney, Jan. 31 (BNA): US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is expected to travel to Australia in February to meet with his counterparts from Japan, India and Australia to discuss Indo-Pacific coordination, the Australian government said Monday.
The two-day meeting of the Quartet Security Dialogue foreign ministers comes amid the Biden administration’s concerns about China, at a time when tensions with Russia over Ukraine are rising in Europe.
China had previously denounced the Quartet, describing it as a pillar of the Cold War and a faction that “targets other countries”.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne did not specify a date for the meeting, but said in a statement that she looked forward to welcoming the Quartet’s foreign ministers to Australia in the coming weeks.
“We are a vibrant network of liberal democracies collaborating to give our region strategic options, focusing on practical steps to build the resilience and sovereignty of all nations,” Payne said, according to Reuters.
She added that Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government was working to deepen Australia’s partnerships in the region amid “strategic competition, threats to the liberal international order and increasing uncertainty”.
Japanese media had earlier reported that the Quartet meeting could be held virtually due to the epidemiological restrictions surrounding international travel. India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in a tweet on January 27 that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Canberra officials hope the timing of the February meeting will allow Jaishankar to recover and retest negative.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is also expected to attend.
The quartet gathering previously discussed boosting the region’s supply of COVID-19 vaccines, semiconductor supply chains and technology cooperation. It also conducted joint naval exercises.
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