Wong says rules are being bent, twisted and broken but avoids naming China as key actor [Video]

Tokyo: Australia and its Quad partners have condemned Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea but stopped short of directly mentioning China by name, as the countries’ top diplomats insist the grouping remains critical to regional security even as doubt hangs over its future.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her US, Indian and Japanese counterparts will also fast-track cybersecurity defence measures across the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s systematic use of online warfare, following a Quad ministers meeting in Tokyo on Monday.

But the ministers stopped short of directly mentioning China by name, despite referencing the range of security challenges it poses in the region through maritime aggression, cyber and information warfare.

“We are seriously concerned about the situation in …