Rubio: US foreign policy will focus on its main national interests

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his strategy in office will focus on core national interests. And among his first acts he called the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to reiterate Washington's support. He also referred to China.

He new secretary of state of the United StatesMarco Rubio said Wednesday that core national interests will be at the center of American diplomacy as President Donald Trump embarks on his second four-year term in the White House.

Rubio, the first of Trump's Cabinet nominees to win Senate confirmation and take office, said in a statement that all U.S. spending and efforts in foreign affairs “must be justified by the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”

He added that “to advance our national interest, we will build a more innovative, agile and focused State Department. This will require replacing some priorities, de-emphasizing some issues, and eliminating some practices.”

Talk to Netanyahu

Later, the State Department reported in a statement that Rubio spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reiterate Washington's support for its ally and the two discussed Iran and the Israeli hostages in Gaza.

The call was Rubio's first with Israel since President Donald Trump's administration took office on Monday. Both Trump and his predecessor, former Democratic President Joe Biden, have supported Israel during its wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Rubio stressed that “maintaining strong US support for Israel is a top priority for Trump,” according to the statement.

Rubio told Netanyahu that Washington will continue to work “tirelessly” to help free the remaining hostages in Gaza, he added.

“The Secretary also conveyed that he looks forward to addressing the threats posed by Iran and seeking opportunities for peace,” the State Department said.

“Dangerous actions by China”

Rubio also spoke with Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo about China's “dangerous and destabilizing actions in the South China Sea,” the State Department said in another statement.

“Secretary Rubio conveyed that (China's) behavior undermines regional peace and stability and is incompatible with international law,” he said.

End to mass migration

Rubio, 53, echoed Trump's early promises to end the mass entry of undocumented immigrants into the United States.

“The State Department will no longer undertake any activities that facilitate or encourage mass migration,” Rubio said.

“Our diplomatic relations with other countries, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, will prioritize securing America's borders, stopping illegal and destabilizing migration, and negotiating the repatriation of illegal immigrants” to their countries of origin.

Rubio said the State Department will end any efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in hiring, in line with orders Trump issued on the first day of his new term.

“This order will be faithfully executed and observed in both letter and spirit,” Rubio said, “We must reward performance and merit.”

“Back to basic principles of diplomacy”

He said foreign policy efforts “must return to the basic principles of diplomacy by eliminating our focus on political and cultural causes that are divisive at home and deeply unpopular abroad. “This will enable us to pursue a pragmatic foreign policy in cooperation with other nations to promote our core national interests.”

Rubio said the United States “must stop censorship and the suppression of information” and “reprioritize the truth.” He emphasized “the fundamental truth that the United States is a great and just country, whose people are generous and whose leaders now prioritize the core interests of Americans, while respecting the rights and interests of other nations.”

With Trump's announcement that he will withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, joining Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries that will not officially join the pact to limit global warming, Rubio said the State Department “will use diplomacy to help President Trump deliver on his promise of a return to American energy dominance.”

“Amid the great power rivalry that is resurfacing today,” Rubio said, “I will empower our talented diplomatic corps to advance our mission to make America safer, stronger and more prosperous.”