Blinken joins Asia-Pacific envoys in talks to improve maritime safety

The foreign ministers met at the Iikura guesthouse in Tokyo (AP)

Top diplomats from Japan, the US, Australia and India have compiled a set of measures to reinforce maritime safety and cybersecurity and to support other Asia-Pacific countries in improving their defences during growing tensions in the regional seas.

After the meeting in Tokyo, Japanese foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa, US secretary of state Antony Blinken, Australian foreign minister Penny Wong and Indian external affairs minister Subrahmayam Jaishankar said they were “seriously concerned” about the tensions and expressed “strong opposition” to unilateral changes to the status quo by coercion.