The recent Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on May 26 (Tuesday) produced a series of initiatives covering strategic infrastructure, maritime and energy security, critical minerals supply chains, and emerging technologies.
The “Quad,” or “Quadrilateral Security Dialogue,” is an informal strategic grouping of the U.S., India, Japan, and Australia, all powerful democratic countries with a presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Hosted by Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, the meeting was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
Among the key announcements were a joint port infrastructure project in Fiji, a new Indo-Pacific energy security initiative launched in response to instability in the Strait of Hormuz following the Iran conflict, an Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration (IPMSC) aimed at improving maritime domain awareness, and cooperation on emerging technologies such as 6G, Open RAN standards and undersea cable resilience.
“We convene at a time of not only great challenges, but also unprecedented opportunities,” the Quad foreign ministers said in a joint statement released Tuesday by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
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The ministers reaffirmed support for a free and open Indo-Pacific and expressed concern over developments in the East and South China seas. Without explicitly naming the People’s Republic of China (PRC), they also opposed unilateral actions that threaten regional peace and stability.
“In the midst of conflicts, geopolitical tensions, and strains on global supply chains, we reaffirm that peace, stability, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific hinges on upholding international law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. We reaffirm our commitment to defending the rule of law, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” the statement said.
Reinvigorating the Quad
Experts said the new initiatives and stronger language on regional security suggest the Quad is seeking to reinvigorate itself amid growing geopolitical tensions across the Indo-Pacific.
The grouping also faced pressure to demonstrate renewed momentum following rising regional security challenges and a cooling in India-U.S. relations last year, analysts said.
“It seems that the foreign ministers have found ways to reenergise the Quad with the new initiatives just announced – and it is notable that the language in the joint statement on regional security is much more robust than before, which is a good sign that the four are committed to deeper cooperation,” Ian Hall, professor of international relations at Australia’s Griffith University, told Vision Times.
The Communist Chinese authorities reacted sharply to the meeting. During a regular press briefing Tuesday, PRC Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning criticized what Chinese state media often describe as “exclusive small circles,” a phrase frequently used by Beijing to characterize U.S.-aligned groupings.
“China has stated its position on Quad on multiple occasions. Cooperation between countries should be conducive to regional peace, stability and prosperity, and not target any third party,” Mao said.
“We oppose forming exclusive groupings or engaging in bloc confrontation.”
Ram Singh, professor and head of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, told Vision Times Beijing’s response reflected concerns about the Quad’s growing potential.
“Quad can be a very powerful platform against military assertiveness of China in the region provided it acts cohesively, consistently multiplying capabilities and competence and economic convergence,” he said.
Dilip Sinha, India’s former permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said that with the stability of the global order increasingly coming into question, regional challenges require regional responses.
“In the Indo-Pacific, China’s economic and security threat cannot be met by the countries of the region on their own. They not only require collective action, but also U.S. help,” he told Vision Times.
“The Quad is the forum for them to coordinate their policies and actions to ensure freedom of navigation, resilient supply chains, energy security and investment in infrastructure to reduce dependence on China.”
QUAD to build port in Fiji
The Quad’s most tangible announcement was its first joint infrastructure project in the Indo-Pacific: a partnership with Fiji to upgrade the island nation’s ports.
Wong described the initiative as “the strongest ever commitment from the Quad to the Pacific.”
“It’s a practical demonstration of our collective ability to deliver high-quality, resilient infrastructure in partnership with the region and in response to Pacific priorities.”
The project, known as the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership, was described in the joint statement as an effort to develop “trusted and resilient infrastructure.”
Fiji Foreign Minister Sakiasi Ditoka told the Fiji Sun that Suva and Lautoka would be the first ports upgraded under the project.
“It will have to be the two major ones, Suva and Lautoka,” Ditoka said Wednesday, May 27.
“And then eventually we’ll probably spread it around – maybe Vanua Levu if you look north, and then maybe Levuka if the project goes that far.”
Analysts said the initiative reflects growing concern among Quad members over China’s expanding presence in the Pacific Islands.
Lautoka, one of the locations where the QUad is going to begin its work, is also the site of the US$4 million Lautoka Yard 3 development project by China that started in 2021. That venture is being handled by the China Railway First Group (Fiji) Co. Ltd., a Chinese state-linked company, aiming at expanding the container storage capacity at the port.
Hall noted that while the Quad has long discussed cooperation on infrastructure, this marks its first concrete project.
“The location is very significant: all four partners are very worried about China’s growing influence in the Pacific and this is a clear signal that they are prepared to make sizable investments and compete with Beijing,” he said.
Since the conclusion of World War II, the Pacific Island nations have been under the economic and political influence of the U.S. and Australia, but Beijing has been gaining a stronger foothold in the region.
“China has made inroads in these countries with its development assistance, particularly investment in infrastructure projects, and even cooperation in sectors like police,” Sinha said.
“It has used its aid to force countries like Solomon Islands and Nauru to break their diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Fiji too has come under Chinese influence. The port project is an effort by the Quad to check China’s growing influence,” he said.
Kanishkan Sathasivam, professor of international relations at Salem State University, said the Quad initiative but cautioned that large multinational infrastructure projects often face implementation challenges.
“I am skeptical that it will be sufficient, or even that it will work out, because multilateral projects like this are notorious for coming apart down the road as the partners start bickering over the details of the project,” he said.
Prof. Singh, however, described the effort as a project of “shared prosperity” that complements broader maritime initiatives by Quad members across the Indo-Pacific.
India is establishing a multipurpose port at Galathea bay in the southeastern coast of Great Nicobar Island, just 56 miles from the Malacca Strait, through which a large chunk of Chinese energy, Japanese and South Korean imports transit.
According to Singh, this can align well with the similar dual use facilities Japanese have in Kitakyushu-Sabebo (Nagasaki prefecture) in Tsushima strait.
“The US holds multiple bases with specific presence in Guam, and the only missing tentacles is in the Australian zone of influence and is plugged by having a port in Fiji. With this all maritime chokepoints are duly addressed,” he added.
Critical minerals and energy security
The Quad also announced a new Critical Minerals Framework aimed at strengthening supply chains for minerals essential to advanced manufacturing, defense and clean energy technologies.
The framework “will guide how Quad partners can leverage economic policy tools and coordinate, including in concert with the private sector, investment to strengthen critical minerals supply chains, including in mining, processing, and recycling,” the joint statement said.
Singh said that securing critical mineral supply chains may be the Quad’s most important long-term strategic challenge.
“As critical mineral sovereignty is becoming essential not merely for economic survivability, but also for long-term geostrategic maneuverability,” he said.
Despite repeated discussions on the issue, Singh said the grouping continues to face obstacles including limited strategic trust, inconsistent coordination arising from each member prioritizing its “own nation-first” industrial agenda.
He noted that the four countries possess complementary strengths: Australia’s mineral resources, Japan’s industrial and financial capacity, U.S. technological leadership, and India’s manufacturing potential and large market.
“Yet, converting these complementarities into an integrated strategic architecture remains difficult amid regulatory fragmentation, commercial competition, domestic political pressures, and concerns over dependency, technology transfer, and supply-chain control,” he said.
Hall expressed similar optimism regarding energy cooperation.
“The Quad can do a lot on energy security, both for each other and for the wider Indo-Pacific, as the U.S. and Australia are big energy exporters and India and Japan have considerable refining capacity. So, it is good to see these commitments to cooperate more closely,” he said.
However, he warned that reducing dependence on China for critical minerals would be difficult because of Beijing’s dominant market position.
“Somehow, the Quad partners are going to have to find a way to mobilise public money and reassure private interests, and do it quickly, because China is emerging as a clean energy superpower,” Hall said.
Sathasivam noted that Australia and Japan have already pursued bilateral agreements with Washington aimed at securing supply chains independent of China.
“The Quad remains an important strategic tool for the U.S. and its regional partners to counter Chinese influence and actions,” he said. The professor criticized India for being what he termed as “deferential to China” and described India as a weak link in Quad because of “its close strategic partnership with Russia.”
Need of the hour
Prof. Singh said the need of the hour is for the U.S. to offer “predictable and assuring geostrategic environment to the world” and stop giving what appears as “confused strategic signalling” to partners.
“Because of confused strategic signaling, the EU, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA AND INDIA are confused and unfortunately the only beneficiary is China,” he said, adding India hasn’t “vitiated” any environment and remains stably invested in the US.
The ministers also addressed North Korea, the Iran conflict and maritime security in key international waterways.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry in its statement on the meeting said participants reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and condemned Pyongyang’s missile and weapons programs.
“In addition, they expressed grave concern over North Korea’s malicious cyber activities,” the ministry said.
North Korea denounced Tokyo’s call for denuclearization, saying that its possession of such weapons was an exercise of its sovereign rights. Criticizing the Quad, Pyongyang said it was “nothing more than a political and diplomatic tool serving the United States’ strategy to realize unipolar dominance.”
Prof. Singh recommended that the Quad should engage ASEAN nations not as partners but as crucial facilitators and stakeholders in the broader Indo-Pacific framework.
“It should maintain consistent security dialogue, avoid abrupt strategic signalling, and focus on long-term cooperation,” he said, emphasizing on the shared democratic values and rules-based vision of the Quad members.
The U.S. State Department’s readout of the meeting also emphasized freedom of navigation and maritime security, condemning attacks on commercial shipping vessels and the imposition of tolls amidst the Middle East conflict.
“We reiterate the importance of adhering to international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) with respect to navigational rights and freedoms, and the safety and uninterrupted flow of global commerce through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea,” the release said.
Singh argued that the Iran conflict has introduced new security challenges for the Indo-Pacific.
“It has reinvigorated two of China’s allies in the region – Pakistan and Iran,” he said.
According to Singh, uncertainty surrounding U.S. commitments in the Middle East has pushed states throughout the region to build closer working relationships with China.
“However, during his recent visit to China, President Trump seemed to overlook some of the long-standing American commitments to this region’s security, which is very worrisome,” he said.
He added that the New Delhi ministerial meeting had reassured regional partners but that Washington would need to do more to deter potential Chinese military adventurism.