US, Australia, India, Japan discuss China's growing power

Tokyo: Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday at a meeting with the US and other diplomats that their Free and Open Indo-Pacific initiative, a concept to counter China's growing assertiveness, is more important than ever amid challenges from the Coronavirus.

The foreign ministers from the Indo-Pacific nations known as the Quad group the US, Japan, India and Australia were gathering in Tokyo for their first in-person talks since the Coronavirus pandemic began. The international community faces multiple challenges as it tries to resolve the pandemic, and This is exactly why right now it is time that we should further deepen coordination with as many countries as possible that share our vision, Suga said. He took office on Sept. 16, vowing to carry on predecessor Shinzo Abe's hawkish security and diplomatic stance. Abe was a key driving force behind promoting the FOIP, which Suga called a vision of peace and prosperity of this region and pledged to pursue the effort. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and their Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, were to hold their own session, without Suga, later Tuesday. Pompeo earlier met with his three counterparts separately and shared their concerns about China's increasing influence in the region, while reaffirming the importance of cooperation among those sharing the concerns. Pompeo in his talks with Payne shared concerns about China's malign activity in the region, while agreeing on the importance for the Quad discussions to the promotion of peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, according to the State Department.