Rubio hosts US Indo-Pacific partners amid strained bilateral ties

By David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted his Australian, Indian and Japanese counterparts on Tuesday, seeking to boost efforts to counter China even as trade and other bilateral disagreements introduce friction into the relationships.

The four countries, known as the Quad, share concerns about China's growing power, but ties have been strained by President Donald Trump's global tariff offensive from which none of the members have been spared.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, nevertheless, said the meeting had been "very productive."

"Today's gathering will strengthen strategic stability in the Indo-Pacific and keep it free and open," he said on X.

In welcoming his counterparts, Rubio called the Quad countries important strategic partners and said it was time to "deliver action" on specific issues.

He said 30 or 40 companies from Quad countries would meet at the State Department on Tuesday to discuss cooperation, including diversification of the supply chain for critical minerals, which is a sector currently dominated by China.

The meeting offered a chance to refocus attention on the region seen as the primary challenge for the U.S. after Trump was distracted by issues elsewhere, including the recent Israel-Iran conflict. In January, the Quad said it would meet regularly to prepare for a leaders' summit in India later this year.

Rubio was also to hold bilateral meetings with Japan's Takeshi Iwaya, Jaishankar and Australia's Penny Wong.

Wong said on X that what was the second Quad ministerial this year was "a signal of the importance of our partnership and the urgency of the challenges we face."

"We agreed that it’s never been more crucial to take concrete actions that support peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific," she wrote.

Trump on Tuesday said Washington could reach a trade deal with India that would help American firms compete there and leave New Delhi facing far lower tariffs, although he cast doubt on a possible deal with Japan by a July 9 deadline for higher levies.

Jaishankar said on Monday there were hopes of bringing the trade talks to a successful conclusion, which would require "give and take" to find middle ground.

After the Quad meeting, Jaishankar went to the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he hoped India and the U.S. could build on their defense integration efforts.

"We hope we can complete several major pending U.S. defense sales to India, expand our shared defense industrial cooperation and co-production efforts," Hegseth said.

Other issues have put pressure on relations.

India has differed with Trump's claims that his intervention and threats to cut off trade talks averted a major conflict between India and Pakistan after militants killed Indian tourists in the disputed Kashmir region in April.

On Monday, Jaishankar restated India's position that trade was not a factor in bringing a ceasefire with Pakistan, while adding in reference to the U.S. that "relationships will never be free of issues," and "what matters is the ability to deal with it and to keep that trend going in the positive direction."

TARIFF NEGOTIATIONS

Japan, the key U.S. ally in the Indo-Pacific, postponed an annual ministerial meeting with the U.S. State and Defense Departments that was supposed to be held on Tuesday. Press reports said this move followed U.S. pressure for it to boost defense spending further than previously requested.

Nicholas Szechenyi, at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said U.S.-Japan ties appeared to have lost momentum since Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump hailed a new golden age in ties at a summit in February.

"The tariff negotiations are all-consuming, and the Japanese appear exasperated by the administration's public lectures on defense spending," Szechenyi said.

The Financial Times said last week the demands came from Elbridge Colby, the third-most senior Pentagon official, whom analysts say has also recently created anxiety in Australia by launching a review of the massive AUKUS project to provide that country with nuclear-powered submarines.