Australia, US, India, Japan commit to free Indo-Pacific in first meeting of Trump presidency

WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. said on Tuesday they were committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific after the first Quad ministerial meeting of the nations since President Donald Trump took office a day earlier.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the four countries said they opposed any unilateral action that seeks to the change the status quo by force or coercion.

The statement also said officials from the four nations will meet on a regular basis in the coming months to prepare for the next leaders' summit, hosted by India.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)

((Kanishka.Singh@thomsonreuters.com; +12024508248;))