AFP, New Delhi

India will host a meeting of foreign ministers of the “Quad” group that includes Australia, Japan and the United States on Tuesday, New Delhi’s foreign ministry said.

The so-called Quad security alliance is seen as a counterweight to Beijing’s presence in the Indian Ocean and wider Asia-Pacific region.

The May 26 meeting comes during a visit by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrives on an India tour today, hosted by India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, with Australia’s Penny Wong and Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi also to attend.

The four-way partnership was first conceived by late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who foresaw an alliance of democracies surrounding China -- which has repeatedly alleged that the Quad is a way to contain it.

“In keeping with the Quad vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, the ministers will... exchange views on advancing Quad cooperation across priority areas,” New Delhi’s foreign ministry said yesterday.

Despite common ground on China, the members have differed on other hotspots, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the attacks in Iran.