The foreign ministers of Japan, the United States, Australia and India affirmed Tuesday they will step up coordination to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific, taking aim at what Washington called China's "exploitation, corruption and coercion" of smaller states in the region.
The four major Indo-Pacific democracies, known as the "Quad," called on other countries to join the initiative, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said after a meeting in Tokyo with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Speaking at the meeting, Pompeo said, "It is more critical now than ever that we collaborate to protect our people and partnerships from the Chinese Communist Party's exploitation, corruption and coercion."