Mr Albanese said the leaders of the “quad” of Australia, the US, India and Japan would instead meet at the G7 summit in Japan this weekend, after Mr Biden cancelled a trip to Sydney on the second leg of his upcoming Asia tour, which also includes a visit to Papua New Guinea.

“The Quad leaders meeting will not be in Sydney next week. We will have that discussion between the Quad leaders in Japan, though,” Mr Albanese told a news conference.

Prime Minister Albanese said a bilateral program in Sydney with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could still go ahead next week. He did not comment on whether Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida would still visit Sydney next week.

The Quad is an informal grouping that promotes an open Indo-Pacific. China sees it as an attempt to contain its influence in the region.

India and Australia are not part of the G7 group, which includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, but both have been invited to the important summit in Japan, along with many other countries.

Huy Hoang (according to Reuters)