Quad seriously concerned about situation in SCS

TOKYO AFP) The foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, Australia and India yesterday expressed serious concern” over the situation in the South China Sea in a veiled rebuke to Beijing.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts in the so-called Quad grouping issued a joint statement calling for a "free and open" Pacific after talks in Tokyo.

The statement did not name China directly, but referenced a series of recent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea.

"We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion," the communique said.