Top diplomats from “the Quad” grouping of Japan, Australia, India and the U.S. on Wednesday singled out maritime security as a key issue for Southeast Asian nations amid rising tensions in the disputed South China Sea.

“We are united in our conviction that peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain underpin the security and prosperity of the region,” Quad diplomats said in a joint statement released after a meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila.

The foreign ministers’ meeting — the fourth to bring together Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi, Australia’s Penny Wong, India’s S. Jaishankar and U.S. Secretary of ​State Marco Rubio since January 2025 — came just days after Manila and Beijing clashed in the South China Sea.