By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met her Indian and Japanese counterparts in Washington and said the invitation for the Quad foreign ministers to attend the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump showed “iron-clad commitment” to close cooperation in the Indo Pacific region.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio appeared on track for confirmation as Trump’s secretary of state on Monday, clearing the way for a meeting of the Quad’s foreign ministers the next day, people familiar with the matter said. before.

The grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the US was formed amid shared concerns about China’s growing power.

“This is a demonstration of the collective commitment of all the Quad countries, an iron commitment at this time when close cooperation in the Indo-Pacific is very important,” Wong said on Sunday at the invitation of foreign ministers. in Washington.

Wong said he would also meet with Rubio and other members of the Trump administration, adding that the US alliance is critical to Australia’s defense and economic development.

Wong is expected to discuss the AUKUS defense technology partnership with the US and Britain, a decade-long plan to sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.

He told reporters in Washington that Australia “is on a path to increase defense spending”.

“Our focus is more on how we continue to deliver AUKUS, because we believe that capability is very important for deterrence, which is how you get peace,” he said.

Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a radio interview on Monday that AUKUS would see Australia make a significant funding contribution to the American industrial base to speed up the rate of US production of submarines. Virginia class.