Pompeo to attend Quad ministerial meeting in Tokyo
On the agenda is a discussion on the post-covid global order and tensions because of ChinaAll Quad nations have problems with China and view Beijing’s conduct with suspicion
PremiumUS secretary of state Mike Pompeo will attend a second meeting of the Quad group of nations in Tokyo this week, the US state department confirmed, following doubts over his travel after President Donald Trump tested positive for covid-19 on Thursday.
“Secretary of state Michael R. Pompeo will travel to Tokyo on October 4 to 6," the state department said overnight on Sunday. “Planned meetings with the Quad foreign ministers in Tokyo will focus on pressing issues of the Indo-Pacific region," it said.
“Secretary Pompeo expects to be travelling to Asia again in October and will work to reschedule visits on that trip, which is now just a few weeks off," it said, referring to trips to South Korea and Mongolia that have been deferred.
The change in schedule comes as Trump is hospitalized in Washington after he tested positive for covid-19.
“We are still planning on making the trips, but we are going to take a look at them," Pompeo said on Friday.
The Tokyo meeting of the Quad group of countries—the US, Japan, Australia and India—will be the second in the series after the one hosted by Pompeo in Washington in September last year.
On the agenda of the Tokyo meet is a discussion of the post covid-19 international order and tensions in the Indo-Pacific region because of China.
For India, the meeting comes amid heightened tensions with China on the border that looks to stretch into the harsh winter months with tens of thousands of troops of both countries ranged against each other. China has also been flexing its military muscles in the seas, holding five simultaneous military exercises along different parts of its coast.
The four ministers will not only discuss the “post-covid-19 international order and the need for a coordinated respo-nse to the various challenges emerging from the pandemic" but also talk about regional issues and “collectively affirm the importance of maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific", India’s foreign ministry said last week.
During his visit, foreign minister S. Jaishankar will hold bilateral talks with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne, Pompeo and his host Motegi Toshimitsu of Japan. He may also call on Japan’s new PM Yoshihide Suga.
All Quad nations have problems with China and view Beijing’s conduct with suspicion. India has an ongoing military standoff with China in Ladakh, Australia has testy relations with China over the origins and spread of covid-19. Japan has concerns over Chinese intrusions near the Senkaku Islands, while the US has been engaged in a war of words with China over the pandemic and trade issues.
Analysts in New Delhi noted a softening in China’s tone while talking about making efforts to resolve the border crisis, wondering whether the Quad meeting had anything to do with it.
India and China are to hold their next round of talks on 12 October.
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