Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (from left), Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during their “Quad” ministers’ meeting in Manila on Wednesday | JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTRY
Jul 22, 2026
Top diplomats from “the Quad” grouping of Japan, Australia, India and the U.S. on Wednesday singled out maritime security as a key issue for Southeast Asian nations amid rising tensions in the disputed South China Sea.
“We are united in our conviction that peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain underpin the security and prosperity of the region,” Quad diplomats said in a joint statement released after a meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila.
The foreign ministers’ meeting — the fourth to bring together Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi, Australia’s Penny Wong, India’s S. Jaishankar and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio since January 2025 — came just days after Manila and Beijing clashed in the South China Sea.
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