Foreign ministers from Australia, India, Japan and the United States announced new initiatives on maritime security, port infrastructure and energy to boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
The announcements by the group of nations known as the Quad came after talks in New Delhi between India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
Speaking after the meeting, Rubio announced a new Indo-Pacific maritime surveillance initiative to integrate the four countries’ surveillance capabilities and strengthen real-time information sharing across the region.
He said the Quad would work with Fiji to upgrade port infrastructure in the Pacific islands, marking its first joint regional infrastructure project.
The ministers also launched an Indo-Pacific energy security initiative aimed at strengthening regional fuel and energy supply chains, with the United States set to host a Quad fuel security forum later this year, Rubio said.
“We are deeply committed to this partnership. It is a linchpin in a cornerstone of our global strategy as a nation,” he said.
Separately, India and the United States signed a deal to strengthen cooperation on critical minerals.
The Quad group is a key strategic partnership for cooperation on maritime security, supply chains and regional strategy.
The Quad meeting comes days after US President Donald Trump visited China, a trip closely watched in New Delhi for signs of any shift in Washington’s approach towards Beijing.
Ahead of yesterday’s talks, Rubio said that Washington wants the Quad to move beyond being a dialogue platform and take more concrete action on issues including maritime security and critical minerals.
He also said officials were working towards a summit of the four leaders later this year, although no date has been announced.
The four countries had hoped to hold a leaders’ summit in India last year, but the plan was delayed because of strains in US-India relations, including disagreements over tariffs.
Jaishankar described the talks as “an exercise of considerable value”, saying the ministers also discussed maritime trade, energy and fertiliser supplies, as well as critical minerals.
He added that as economic activity, energy, trade and maritime commerce in the region grow, “the responsibilities of the Quad will grow commensurately, and we must prepare for that”.
The leaders also discussed the Iran conflict and halted energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Australia’s Wong said the Indo-Pacific was facing “acute economic stress” and warned that any closure of the strait would have serious consequences for regional energy security.
“We recognise the importance of maintaining the principle of freedom of navigation and our opposition to any tolling proposition,” Wong said, referring to Iran’s plan to charge vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
She said the Quad reflects a shared commitment among four sovereign nations to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“There is great alignment between our interests. We all share a vision for the Indo-Pacific, a region that is free and open,” she said. — AP
