On his first full day as secretary of state, Marco Rubio is meeting with his counterparts from a group of countries known as the Quad: the United States plus India, Japan and Australia, representing nearly 2 billion people and more than a third of global GDP.

The meeting, bringing together representatives of the four largest militaries in the Indo-Pacific, was a clear signal that the Trump administration will intensify military preparations and threats directed at China.

By David Brunnstrom, Simon Lewis and Alasdair Pal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States, Australia, India and Japan recommitted to working together on Tuesday, after the first meeting of the China-focused "Quad" grouping's top diplomats since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.