Foreign Minister Penny Wong has held one-on-one talks for the first time with newly sworn-in US secretary of state Marco Rubio.

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.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first full day in office Tuesday warned jointly with Japan, India and Australia against coercive actions in Asia, in a veiled but clear warning to China over its actions at sea.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has used her first bilateral meeting with America’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio, to build support for the AUKUS partnership and promote closer economic security under a new Trump administration whose agenda has already unnerved close allies.

Newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hitting the ground running Tuesday with meetings with his counterparts in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the Quad, which

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has met new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other leads of the Quad in Washington.

The Quad ministerial meeting of Australia, India, Japan, and the US focused on countering China's influence and maintaining a free Indo-Pacific.

Rubio will depart on his first foreign trip to visit countries in Central America that may be vital for carrying out the Trump administration's mass deportation plans.

The foreign affairs minister met with her new American counterpart this week, amid concerns that Australia will be required to align more closely with the US on China.

The first bilateral meeting of the Trump administration was with India after PM's special envoy Jaishankar was accorded top protocol at the Trump inaugural.

The newly installed Trump administration has quickly reaffirmed America’s strong support for the Philippines in the face of an increasingly aggressive China in the disputed South China Sea, despite doubts to the contrary voiced by some observers.