New Delhi [India], May 26 (ANI): The 11th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the national capital on Tuesday culminated in landmark pacts to scale up maritime surveillance, fortify submarine cable infrastructure, and build resilient supply networks for critical minerals across the Indo-Pacific.
The high-powered deliberations, hosted at the historic Hyderabad House in New Delhi by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, brought together US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi to steer the alliance’s strategic roadmap.
Director General for Press and Public Diplomacy at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Kitamura Toshihiro, noted that the ministerial talks yielded key policy consensus on securing essential strategic resources.
“We have issued several outcome documents today. One of the outcome documents is strengthening cooperation in critical minerals, establishing a resilient supply chain of critical minerals,” Toshihiro told ANI.
When asked when the next high-profile Quad Leaders’ Summit will take place, the senior Japanese diplomat indicated that while the exact timeline remains under discussion, the momentum of the four-nation grouping remains entirely unhindered.
“The date has not been fixed, but every minister is determined to continue the cooperation through this Quad mechanism,” Toshihiro said.
“In addition to security cooperation, economic security cooperation is one of the key topics which has been discussed during today’s meeting. Under the current international situation, it is quite important to establish a resilient supply chain by cooperating with like-minded countries. India is a very important partner, both within the framework of Quad and bilaterally. We are very happy to continue this kind of cooperation with India,” he added.
Highlighting New Delhi’s pivotal position within Tokyo’s strategic calculus, Toshihiro emphasised that India remains an anchor for regional architecture and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
“India is a very indispensable partner for Japan within this Quad framework. We would like to collaborate with India in order to ensure an open Pacific. India can play a central role in doing so. Prime Minister Modi visited Japan last August, and at that time, we issued a joint vision for the next 10 years. We are trying to mobilise resources in order to fortify the bilateral relationship between the two countries. One of the pillars is security cooperation between Japan and India. We are ready to work with the Indian government so that India can work together in realising a free and open Pacific once again,” Toshihiro said.
Brushing aside external criticisms and geopolitical pushback from competing regional powers, the senior official reiterated that the primary purpose of the Quadrilateral alliance is to deliver tangible developmental and security benefits to the wider region.
“Quad is a framework to provide concrete cooperation to the region. We all are determined to continue working together in order to continue demonstrating our commitment and cooperation to the region. We are determined to continue this cooperation in order to make this region more resilient and prosperous,” Toshihiro asserted.
This collective commitment was formalised through a definitive joint statement, in which the ministers affirmed their support for a free and open Indo-Pacific designed to help regional nations build resilience and strengthen their capacity to determine their own paths.
To translate this vision into a robust strategic response against escalating regional challenges and expanding military footprints, the ministers took a firm stance on global maritime choke points.
The joint front directly criticised Iran’s imposition of tolls on commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, calling for an uninterrupted flow of global commerce while simultaneously voicing serious concerns over dangerous, unilateral, and coercive tactics deployed across vital shipping lanes in the East and South China Seas.
Articulating how these geopolitical pressures impact resource management, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced the operationalisation of a critical minerals framework alongside an Indo-Pacific energy security initiative, noting that because the four maritime democracies are located at different ends of the region, this exchange of perspectives holds considerable value for ensuring safe, unimpeded commerce under international law.
Expanding on the security components necessary to protect these trade routes, which carry 60 per cent of global maritime trade, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the launch of an Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Cooperation Initiative to leverage the combined capabilities of the partner states, alongside a brand-new initiative to partner with Fiji to upgrade insufficient port capacities in the Pacific Islands.
Aligning with this expanded security architecture, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed that the initial phases of these coordinated maritime surveillance efforts will focus on the Indian Ocean, while also noting that the alliance is simultaneously broadening its cooperative framework to tackle transnational threats by strengthening operations against digital scam centres in Southeast Asia. (ANI)
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