New Delhi

The Quad grouping on Tuesday announced a series of new initiatives aimed at strengthening maritime surveillance, critical mineral cooperation, energy security and port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific amid growing concerns over China’s increasing military and strategic presence in the region.

The announcements came after a meeting of the Quad foreign ministers in New Delhi, chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The meeting was attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.

Addressing the media after the talks, Jaishankar said the Quad nations had agreed on a new framework for cooperation in critical minerals and launched an Indo-Pacific energy security initiative to address emerging regional challenges.

“A significant portion of our discussions, including bilateral engagements, focused on the current global situation,” Jaishankar said.

He noted that issues concerning the Indo-Pacific remained central to the deliberations, given that all four Quad members are maritime democracies situated across different parts of the region.

“Because we are four maritime democracies positioned across the Indo-Pacific, the exchange of perspectives was extremely valuable,” he said.

The minister said the Quad members discussed the importance of maintaining safe and uninterrupted maritime commerce and reaffirmed their commitment to respecting international law.

“We spent considerable time discussing safe and unimpeded maritime trade and the need for strict adherence to international law,” Jaishankar said.

He added that the meeting reviewed progress in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific, including strengthening supply chains, economic resilience and cooperation in areas such as energy, fertiliser availability and critical minerals.

“In the years ahead, the Indo-Pacific will become even more central to global economic activity, maritime commerce and energy trade. Consequently, the responsibilities of the Quad will also grow,” he said.

Jaishankar also said the ministers discussed counter-terrorism cooperation and reaffirmed a policy of zero tolerance toward terrorism.

“There must be zero tolerance for terrorism, and countries facing terrorist attacks have the right to defend themselves,” he said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the launch of a new Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Cooperation Initiative aimed at enhancing coordination among the Quad countries in monitoring maritime activities across the region.

The initiative, he said, would utilise the maritime surveillance capabilities of all four nations to improve regional security.

Rubio also announced the expansion of the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative among Quad members.

He stressed that maritime security remains crucial because nearly 60 per cent of global maritime trade passes through the Indo-Pacific region.

“It is in the national interest not only of Quad countries but of many nations around the world to ensure maritime security in the Indo-Pacific,” Rubio said.

He further announced a new Quad initiative focused on strengthening port infrastructure in Pacific Island nations.

“In response to inadequate port capacity in the Pacific Islands, we are beginning cooperation on port infrastructure projects,” he said.

Rubio revealed that the first such project would be undertaken in partnership with Fiji, marking the first time Quad nations would jointly work on a port infrastructure initiative.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Quad countries had also discussed diplomatic efforts to ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

“We recognised the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and expressed opposition to any proposal involving tolls on transit through the Strait,” Wong said, referring to Iran’s reported proposal to levy transit fees.

She added that the Quad nations are strengthening cooperation against scam centres and cyber-enabled fraud operations, particularly in Southeast Asia.

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According to Wong, maritime surveillance cooperation among Quad members would initially focus on the Indian Ocean region before expanding further across the Indo-Pacific.