China high on the agenda as Quad leaders meet in Melbourne

Leaders from the Quad alliance have met in Melbourne for high stakes talks between Australia, the US, India and Japan

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has joined leaders from Australia, India and Japan for a meeting with the Quad.

The meeting, lasting around 20 minutes, kicked off with Australia’s Foreign Affairs minister Marise Payne thanking leaders for coming together and making the journey to Australia for the meeting.

Payne highlighted that on the agenda was to be discussions about maritime security, cyber security, critical tech Issues as well as counterterrorism, climate change and vaccine delivery.

Quad leaders also highlighted a milestone delivering over 500 million vaccines in the region to tackle the ongoing pandemic.

The attention quickly turned to China

The US‘ Antony Blinken reiterated that the Quad all share concerns in regards to the communist nation, and all leaders seemed to agree with Blinken’s statement that China has become more aggressive in recent years.

Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison stated that what the world is seeing right now is “the first in at least 80 years”

Antony Blinken heads off to Fiji on Saturday, in the meantime leaders will continue these very important talks in Melbourne.

Blinken has also since touched on the crisis happening on Russia’s border with Ukraine, and says that an invasion by Moscow into Kyiv could occur “at any time, even during the Winter Olympics” that are currently being held in Beijing, China.