An agreement between Australia, the United States, Japan and the Philippines to set up an Indo-Pacific defence council could mark the first step towards the “Squad” group of nations maturing into a formal minilateral grouping. Defence leaders of the four countries met on the sidelines of the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting Plus on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur, where they “expressed support for the framework to establish the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence Cooperation Council”. The countries said they...