New U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed China's "dangerous and destabilizing actions in the South China Sea" with his Philippine counterpart on Wednesday and underscored the "ironclad" U.S.

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 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.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan as the Trump administration kicks off its formal foreign policy engagements in discussions with the Indo-Pacific “Quad.