Tokyo, Oct 6 (AFP/APP):US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held talks on Tuesday with key Asia-Pacific allies in Tokyo, presenting a united front on the regional challenge posed by an increasingly assertive China. The top US diplomat is meeting his Japanese, Australian and Indian counterparts on a trip that was scaled back following the coronavirus crisis in Washington, where President Donald Trump and a raft of staff and advisors have contracted Covid-19. Stops in South Korea and Mongolia have been scrapped, but Pompeo said the meeting of the so-called Quad had taken time to put together and was expected to produce “some significant announcements”. Pompeo is the first senior US official to visit Japan since Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga took office last month, and he said he was confident Tokyo and Washington were on the same page. “In his first statement after assuming office, Prime Minister Suga described the free and open Indo-Pacific as ‘the foundation of regional peace and stability’. I could not agree more,” Pompeo said at the start of talks with Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. “I would only add, the foundation’s cornerstone is the US-Japan relationship and the security and prosperity it has provided for our … Continue reading Pompeo meets Asian ‘Quad’ allies in Tokyo with eyes on China