Foreign Minister Marise Payne says Australia's presence in the Indo-Pacific is "growing exponentially" as she hosts landmark talks with the US, India and Japan.
The four foreign ministers, as well as Prime Minister Scott Morrison, met in Melbourne on Friday for the fourth Quad talks.
Senator Payne said talks would focus on challenges on a "different scale" than those from preceding decades.
"More than one authoritarian regime is presenting itself in the current world climate as a challenge – (North Korea), China as well – and they will be part of our discussions today," she said.
"Our work together in the Indo-Pacific is growing exponentially and it is very rewarding to see the engagement of so many of our partners in the region with us both."
Senator Payne said the visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed the US' commitment to peace and stability.
"When allies and partners work together, we are so much more effective. We are so much more collaborative," she said.
"When we are committed to our shared values, there are no challenges we cannot and will not overcome."
Mr Blinken said the partnership was growing stronger and working together more effectively to meet the growing challenges to peace by autocratic regimes like Russia and China.
The secretary of state noted that Russia posed an immediate risk not just in Europe but to fundamental security principles throughout the world.
"We indeed have a lot to cover today - challenges posed far away from here but that have an impact on this region as well," he said.
"We simply can't do it without partnerships, and Australia for us, is right at the top of the list. The US and Australia as partners, as mates, are essential to that goal ... (of) a free and open Indo-Pacific."
It comes as Russia and China agreed on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics to a "no limits" pact to back each other amid pushback from the West.
Mr Blinken said Russian aggression in Ukraine would not be good for China either and "one would think that it would have shared some of its concerns".
"This is not about standing against anyone in particular; it is about standing up for a rules-based order," he told the ABC before the talks.
His trip to Australia represents the first cabinet-level official US visit under Joe Biden's presidency.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he is reassured by the support from Australia's Quad partners, with the world being a "very fragile, fragmented and contested" place.
Mr Morrison says the four nations will work together to counter the coercion and the pressure that Australia has been placed under.
"Each of us stand for a world order that favours freedom and particularly here in a free and open Indo-Pacific," he said.
"The things we discuss today are principally how we'll continue to always stand up for our values that unites us most. In doing so we stand up to those who would seek to coerce us."
Mr Morrison said the three foreign ministers, alongside senator Payne, would also discuss a shared vision for a strong economy, regional security and stability, and opportunities for more engagement in the region.
"That gives all nations in the region options and choices and opportunities and enables their sovereignty to be strengthened and respected," he said.
Speaking before the Quad meeting, Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the country's relationship with Australia was becoming much closer as India's strength and interests continue to grow.
Mr Jaishankar said the US would not be able to underpin global security by itself as the world continues to shift.