Quad ministers address Indo-Pacific 'coercion', climate, COVID

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the Quad meeting of foreign ministers in Melbourne, Australia, February 11, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/POOL

The United States, Australia, Japan and India pledged on Friday to deepen cooperation to ensure the Indo-Pacific region was free from "coercion", a thinly veiled swipe at China's economic and military expansion.

Foreign ministers of the so-called Quad group, meeting in the Australian city of Melbourne, also promised to increase cooperation on COVID-19, cyber threats and counter-terrorism.