- Quad signs project of critical minerals, energy security pacts.
- Rubio calls Quad partnership cornerstone of US global strategy.
- Absence of leaders’ summit raised some doubts, says analysts.
The foreign ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the US agreed to jointly build a port in Fiji and signed pacts covering critical minerals and energy security, as they sought to inject fresh energy into their grouping known as the Quad.
The brief meeting between the countries’ top diplomats — Australia’s Penny Wong, India’s Jaishankar, Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio — was the third such gathering of the Quad since September 2024.
The group unveiled its first joint infrastructure project, a port in Fiji.
“We are going to be partnering on issues of port infrastructure, in particular in response to insufficient port capacity in the Pacific Islands, we are announcing plans to work with Fiji,” Rubio said.
The four-nation group had lost some momentum last year after failing to hold a leaders’ summit, amid tensions between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Washington’s tariffs and other matters.
“We are beginning to show real achievements and real accomplishments,” Rubio said. “We are deeply committed to this partnership. It is a linchpin and a cornerstone of our global strategy as a nation in the United States.”
He said the group agreed to launch an initiative on Indo-Pacific Energy Security and a critical minerals framework.
Absence of leaders’ summit creates doubts
The minerals framework will guide how to leverage economic policy tools and coordinate investment to strengthen critical minerals supply chains — including in mining and processing — and in critical minerals recycling, Rubio said.
The initiative could be significant for Japan after China halted shipments of some minerals used in aerospace, defence and semiconductor industries following a diplomatic dispute.
New Delhi has pressed for a Trump visit to India, a trip that would probably be tied to a Quad summit. Analysts have questioned whether a lack of leader-level engagement has downgraded the Quad’s importance.
The foreign ministers did not comment on the possibility of a summit this year, but over the weekend, Rubio said that diplomats would work towards a meeting later this year.
“The absence of a leaders’ summit has raised some doubts, but that does not necessarily indicate declining importance,” said Premesha Saha, a senior policy fellow at the Asia Society Australia in Melbourne.
“If the Quad can keep delivering at the ministerial and working levels, it can remain relevant even without regular leaders-level signalling.”
