Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison opened the day by stressing the importance of this group in building cooperation between like-minded democracies, alluding to his own country's difficult relationship with Beijing.

"We live in a very fragile, fragmented and conflictual world," he stressed to the invited diplomats.

"We oppose those who seek to coerce us," he added.

Without mentioning China by name, Mr Morrison said he was "great to comfort" that his three partners understood "the coercion and pressure that Australia is under".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured that although Washington is currently focused on the Russian threat in Ukraine, the longer-term challenge remains China's advance, which calls into question "the traditional order".

"In my view, there is little doubt that China's ultimate ambition is to become the leading military, economic, diplomatic and political power, not only in the region but also in the world," he said. he told The Australian newspaper on the eve of the talks.

The Quad group was launched in 2007 but only really took shape a decade later, after violent clashes on the India-China border and an deployment of Chinese military might in the South China Sea.

Covid, 5G, climate

"Together, we form a vital network of liberal democracies committed to practical cooperation and to ensuring that all Indo-Pacific countries, large and small, are able to make their own strategic decisions, free from coercion. "Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Friday ahead of the summit.

After joint naval exercises in 2020 in the Bay of Bengal, the Melbourne meeting aims to deepen cooperation in areas such as the fight against Covid-19, information technology issues, including the deployment of networks 5G telecommunications, or even climate change.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi explained in January before his Parliament that the Quad made it possible to establish "a free and open order based on the rule of law" in the Asia-Pacific region.

The pandemic has allowed the group to take on a broader mission than containing Chinese power.

The four countries have used this framework to pledge to distribute 1.3 billion vaccines, of which 500 million have already been delivered, according to Ms Payne.

For the United States, this meeting in Melbourne is an opportunity to reaffirm its choice to make Asia the heart of its foreign and defense policy.

Even if Ukraine is "at the center of attention" in Washington, assured Mr. Blinken on his arrival in Australia, "the world is big".

"Our interests are global and you all know very well that our focus is on the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions," he added.

© 2022 AFP