Foreign Minister Penny Wong meets Donald Trump's top diplomat

Australia and other Quad nations pledged to work together following the first meeting of the diplomatic grouping since US President Donald Trump returned to power.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her counterparts from India and Japan held talks with the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday (AEDT).

In a joint statement after the meeting in Washington, the four countries said officials would meet regularly to prepare for a leaders' summit in India, planned this year.

The Quad was established in 2007 to bring together countries that had worked together in response to the devastating 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Its members stress its diplomatic nature and broad focus on regional issues including infrastructure, humanitarian aid, disaster relief, climate change and maritime security.

Even though security is only part of the mix, the Quad is a major component of the American strategy to counter China's growing assertiveness and vast territorial claims in the region, including to virtually all of the strategically important South China Sea and the democratic self-governing island of Taiwan.

The four nations restated their "shared commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific where the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty, and territorial integrity are upheld and defended," the joint statement said.

"We also strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion."

Rubio later held separate talks with Wong and the other foreign ministers.

A key issue for Australia in relations with the new Trump administration is securing support for the AUKUS defence pact under which it acquires nuclear-powered submarines.