U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Australian counterpart, Marise Payne, discussed on Tuesday shared concern over China's "malign activity" in the region, a state department official said.
Pompeo is in Japan for a meeting of the "Quad" grouping of foreign ministers: the United States, Japan, Australia and India. The meeting comes at a time of heightened tension with China.
"Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Payne emphasised the importance of the Quad discussions to the promotion of peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific," Principal Deputy Spokesperson Cale Brown said in a read-out following the meeting.
"The Secretary and the Foreign Minister also discussed their shared concerns regarding the People's Republic of China's malign activity in the region."
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and David Dolan; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
