QUAD: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, US Secy of State Mike Pompeo meet in Tokyo

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Tokyo on Tuesday. While they have been in touch with each other for the past few months amid the COVID crisis, this is the first in-person meeting between the two.

This is also the first meeting between Jaishankar and Pompeo amid the India-China tensions since May. Both the countries have seen increased convergences on several issues, from security to Indo-Pacific.

Later in the day, the foreign ministers of all four Quad countries -- India, US, Japan and Australia will meet. US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Indian External Affairs minister S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will be present in the meet for the face to face meeting in Tokyo, a first amid the pandemic.

This is the second such Quad FMs meet. Last year, all FMs of Quad countries met on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly.

This will be first such major diplomatic engagement of the new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. The grouping, whose focus is on "free and open" Indo-Pacific is viewed suspiciously by China.