Quad launches Indo-Pacific energy initiative amid West Asia conflict

THe space on tues launched an vitality certificate initiative to facilitate Indo-Pacific nations cope with disruptions due to the West Asia conflict and a project to build a port in Fiji, as foreign ministers of the grouping sought to inject fresh momentum into existing collaboration in maritime surveillance and critical minerals.Most of the initiatives unveiled by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his counterparts — Australia’s Penny Wong, Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi and US secretary of state Marco Rubio — were aimed at countering China’s assertive actions across the Indo-Pacific and its dominance in sectors such as infrastructure and telecommunications. Though this was the third Quad foreign ministers’ meeting since September 2024, there was no official word on when the next leaders’ summit would be convened.The new Quad Initiative on Indo-Pacific Energy Security, proposed by the US, will strengthen regional energy resilience, and the members of the grouping will leverage their energy resources and capabilities to cooperate in areas such as technology, management and emergency response, according to a factsheet.This will also include steps to help countries in the region to create strategic oil reserves.Also Read: Eye on China, India and US conclude critical minerals and rare earths frameworkThe US energy department will host Quad partners later this year for a fuel security forum to expand on the initiative, Rubio said.Motegi added that Japan wants to partner the initiative with its own “POWERR Asia” (Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience Asia), a cooperation framework for procuring crude oil and petroleum products.The grouping also unveiled its first joint infrastructure project, a port in Fiji.“In response to insufficient port capacity in the Pacific Islands, we’re announcing plans to work with Fiji to advance that country’s port infrastructure,” Rubio said, noting this is the first time Quad members will work together on a project that can serve as a model.Japanese foreign ministry spokesperson Toshihiro Kitamura emphasised the US’s commitment to the Quad at a news briefing and pointed to President Donald Trump’s keenness to continue cooperation within the grouping. In response to a question about the holding of the next Quad Leaders’ Summit, he said: “The date is not decided yet. So, we don’t have any fixed date for the next summit.”A joint statement issued after the foreign ministers’ meeting only referred to the convening of the next Quad Summit, without specifying a venue or date, and Australian foreign minister Wong responded to a question at a separate news briefing about Trump’s recent visit to China compromising the strategic rationale of Quad by insisting that the grouping is all about “strategic stability”.The Quad states are democracies working together for stability, peace and openness, Wong said.Also Read:Donald Trump is a ‘big fan’ of PM Modi, says Rubio over anti-India rhetoric row“The world wants the two great powers of the US and China to work together to ensure that they can coexist peacefully and…manage their differences, and so that dialogue is a good thing,” she said.The US has demonstrated its commitment to the Quad and that “will continue in terms of the leaders’ summit”, she said. “Obviously, that depends on the availability of leaders, but we look forward to that,” Wong added.The four Quad member states sought to inject fresh energy into the grouping, which lost momentum last year following strains in India-US relations over the Trump administration’s trade policies, including 50% tariffs on Indian goods.Most of this was in the form of expansion of existing Quad initiatives for maritime domain awareness, cooperation in critical minerals, support for undersea cable connectivity in the Pacific Islands, and secure 4G and 5G connectivity in the Indo-Pacific.Jaishankar said at a joint media interaction that in addition to focusing on safe and unimpeded maritime commerce, the Quad members states, as market economies, believe economic resilience should be promoted, supply chains strengthened, and production capacities enhanced.“Our deliberations touched on the current energy and fertiliser availability, as well as that of critical minerals and resources”, he said.With Quad’s Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) already in place and with India operationalising the Indian Ocean leg of this programme through its Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region in Gurugram, the grouping will “strengthen coordination of maritime surveillance efforts through the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration (IPMSC) initially in the Indian Ocean Region”, according to the joint statement.The IPMSC, which will leverage maritime surveillance by the four countries and enhance information-sharing, will augment IPMDA by enabling Quad partners to “share real-time information and provide an enhanced picture of vessels in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific”.India will also host the second edition of the Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission to strengthen inter-operability and knowledge-sharing to address illegal maritime activities.The Quad also unveiled a new framework to take forward its Critical Minerals Initiative, which was announced in July 2025. This framework will help the Quad states to leverage economic policy tools and coordinate investments to strengthen critical mineral supply chains, including mining, processing and recycling.This development is significant as India and Japan were both hit by China’s curbs last year on exports of rare earths that are vital for the aerospace, defence and semiconductor industries.China has since eased some of those restrictions but India and Japan have shared concerns over Beijing’s dominance in critical mineral supply and value chains.The Quad states pledged to expand resilient connectivity in the Indo-Pacific in the face of increased risk to undersea cable networks. In this context, they have provided support to ensure that all Pacific Island Forum countries are connected via undersea cables by 2026.The Quad members also noted the progress under the Quad Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN) cooperation with Palau, which resulted in the selection of trusted suppliers in February this year.The Quad states will next collaborate on “Next-Gen Communication Standards”, with the project focusing on promoting telecommunications and Open RAN technical standards collaboration, primarily for the development of 6G standards.The joint statement condemned all forms of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, and the “horrific terrorist attacks perpetrated at Pahalgam in India on 22 April 2025, and Bondi Beach in Australia on 14 December 2025”, and called for decisive and sustained global efforts to combat terror. This should include action against globally proscribed terrorists and entities, sponsors and financiers.The foreign ministers discussed the situation in West Asia and backed diplomatic efforts for lasting peace. They emphasised the importance of adhering to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in the context of navigational freedoms and the uninterrupted flow of global commerce through the Strait of Hormuz, condemned attacks on commercial vessels and opposed any measures such as the imposition of tolls.The Quad foreign ministers also expressed serious concern over the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea, without directly referring to China’s actions, and opposed “any destabilising or unilateral actions, including by force or coercion, that threaten peace and stability.They also expressed concern over “dangerous and coercive actions”, including dangerous manoeuvres by military aircraft and coast guard vessels, especially the use of water cannons and ramming or blocking actions.China responded to these developments by saying that cooperation between countries should contribute to regional ​peace and stability instead of targeting any ⁠third party.“We also ​do not support the formation ​of exclusive cliques or bloc confrontation. No cooperation should undermine ​mutual trust and cooperation ​among regional countries,” foreign ministry ‌spokesperson ⁠Mao Ning told a daily news conference.