Washington, July 2 -- The Foreign ministers of the Quad nations met in Washington, DC, on July 1 to reaffirm their steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed concern about the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea.

The four leaders reiterated their strong opposition to any unilateral actions that attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion. Foreign Ministers expressed concern regarding dangerous and provocative actions, including interference with offshore resource development, the repeated obstruction of the freedoms of naviga...