United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday held his first with the foreign ministers of Quad nations, with the four countries vowing to oppose unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo “by force or coercion” in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Quad, a strategic coalition, comprises India, the United States, Japan and Australia. The statement issued on Tuesday was an apparent reference to China’s actions in the Indo-Pacific.

The meeting took place a day after Donald Trump was as the US president for a second term.

The joint statement said that Rubio, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Australia’s Penny Wong and their Japanese counterparts Takeshi Iwaya had met to “reaffirm our shared commitment to strengthening a Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.

“Our four nations maintain our conviction that international law, economic opportunity, peace, stability, and security in all domains including the maritime domain underpin the development and prosperity of the peoples of the Indo-Pacific,” the statement said.

It added: “We also strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.”

The joint statement said that the four nations were “committed to strengthening regional maritime, economic, and technology security in the face of increasing threats, as well as promoting reliable and resilient supply...