India, Nov. 1 -- The foreign ministers of India, the US, Australia and Japan on Saturday called it an "absolute necessity" to protect navigational rights in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where ships and crews should pass without tolls, and voiced "grave concerns" over economic coercion through arbitrary export restrictions, even as US secretary of state Marco Rubio said a meeting of Quad leaders in Manila next month would be announced very soon.

Both concerns bear directly on India, which brings in much of its fertiliser and energy through the Gulf and relies on China for critical minerals - although the statement did not name either country.

The joint statement was issued after Rubio hosted external af...