(From left) Foreig Ministers of India, Japan, Australia, and the US at a meeting in Tokyo on October 06, 2020. (Photo: Reuters)

The most important things participants at Tuesday’s meeting agreed to were strengthening cooperation toward a free and open Indo-Pacific region, structuring an international order based on general principles of international law to prevent Chinese misdeeds in the South China Sea (called the East Sea in Vietnam), and securing sea navigation.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne said: “We believe in a region governed by rules, not power. We believe in the fundamental importance of individual rights and in a region in which disputes are resolved according to international law.”

“We believe in regional security and recovery from COVID19 that supports sovereign choices for the countries of the Indo-Pacific. Australia is achieving this vision in the engagement across the Indo-Pacific by working closely with ASEAN and by stepping up with the Pacific,” Marise Payne added.

Japan’s  Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu said Japan, Australia, India, and the US share the same view of an international order based on accepted principles.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo underscored the importance of cooperation in fighting COVID-19 and warned of China's activities in the South China Sea, East China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait.

The Foreign Ministers agreed to hold their meeting annually and boost cooperation in network security and infrastructure.

During a Tuesday phone call, Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and EC President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to work together to make the Indo-Pacific a free and open region.