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.

Analysts have said the meeting is designed to signal that countering Beijing is a top priority for Mr Trump. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Following his debut at the State Department, Rubio met in the afternoon with foreign ministers from the Indo-Pacific Quad on Tuesday afternoon, including Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier said he said would stress the importance of working with allies 'on the things that are important to America and Americans' during the meeting

Rubio called China the "most potent, dangerous adversary" during his confirmation and is expected to work with India, Japan, and Australia to counter this.

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

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