<span style="color: #222222;">Foreign ministers of Japan and Mongolia have agreed to cooperate in promoting a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. The move is being seen as a step to counter China's growing assertiveness in the region. The recent meeting of foreign ministers of QUAD nations – India, United States, Australia and Japan held in Tokyo had agreed to seek more countries support for the Free and Open Indo-Pacific. Japan and the US have been pushing the Free and Open Indo-Pacific as a way to bring together countries that share concerns about China's growing influence in the region.</span><br />''  <br />