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Antony Blinken arrives in Australia ahead of Quad meeting
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Melbourne, Australia ahead of his meeting with the Quad
Blinken is visiting the Asia-Pacific region, including a meeting of foreign ministers of the four-member Quad, the U.S State Department says.
Mr Blinken is making the trip despite the mounting crisis over Ukraine and policy analysts say the aim is to show the Pacific region support and that pushing back against China’s expanding influence remains the top US priority.
Mr Blinken departed Washington DC on Monday and arrived in Australia on the afternoon of Feb 9 local time.
The meeting of the Quad includes the United States, Japan, India and Australia.
“The Quad is becoming a powerful mechanism for delivering, helping to vaccinate a big part of the world, getting a lot of vaccines out there,”
Blinken said while on route to Melbourne
The Quad also plans to strengthen maritime security to “push back against aggression and coercion in the Indo-Pacific region,”
Mr Blinken then travels to Fiji on Saturday to reassure Pacific island leaders that Washington and its allies are committed to providing security and coronavirus vaccines to them, as China steps up its aid and influence in the region.