by Shaun TANDON
New US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met counterparts Tuesday from Japan, India and Australia on his first day in office, in a sign of solidarity in the face of China.Rubio's meetings with the so-called Quad come as President Donald Trump vows to push back against China.
But the gathering also marks a contrast to Trump's frequent dismissal of US allies and partners.
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Rubio, a three-term senator who a day earlier was unanimously confirmed by his peers, opened his first full day on the job with a four-way meeting with Quad foreign ministers before moving into separate engagements with each.
The Quad was envisioned by late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and expanded into a leaders' summit by former President Joe Biden.
China has repeatedly lashed out at the Quad, saying it is a US plot to encircle the rising Asian power.
The Quad powers deny attempts at containment but have tried to offer a united front on areas from vaccines to disaster relief to countries in Asia that otherwise could find a greater allure in China.
Rubio made no remarks to the press as he met his counterparts. But in a speech to employees as he entered the State Department, Rubio vowed both to defend US diplomats -- often maligned by his Republican Party -- while pursuing Trump's belief in "America First."
"I expect every nation on earth to advance their national interests. And in those instances -- and I hope there will be many -- in which our national interests and theirs align, we look forward to working with them," Rubio said.
"We recognize that there will be those times unfortunately as humans interact with one another because of our nature that there will be conflict," Rubio said.
"We will seek to prevent them and avoid them, but never at the expense of our national security, never at the expense of our national interest and never at the expense of our core values as a nation and as a people," he said.
With Trump's return, a slew of senior career diplomats quit their posts at the State Department. Trump's allies have previously cast career diplomats as opponents of Trump's agenda and vowed to replace them with political appointees.
Addressing employees with his wife and four children by his side, Rubio said: "There will be changes."
"But the changes are not meant to be destructive, they're not meant to be punitive," he said.
"But we need to move faster than we ever have because the world is changing faster than we ever have."
Trump has frequently described NATO allies as freeloaders who do not pay their fair share for defense.
Biden, in closing remarks on foreign policy delivered last week at the State Department, pointed to his work on the Quad as part of a series of efforts to strengthen alliances.
"We've reinvigorated people's faith in the United States as a true, true partner," Biden said.