The Quad nations — India, the United States, Australia and Japan — on 26 May unveiled an ambitious push to strengthen energy security, resilient supply chains and maritime cooperation across the Indo-Pacific amid growing geopolitical tensions and disruptions in global energy markets.
In a joint statement issued after the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, the grouping reaffirmed its shared vision for a “” anchored in secure trade routes, stable energy systems and stronger regional resilience.
The meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and attended by , Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
The four countries acknowledged that disruptions in global oil, gas and petrochemical markets have disproportionately affected Indo-Pacific nations, particularly vulnerable developing countries and small island states in the Pacific.
What Jaishankar said at the Quad meet
Earlier in his opening statement, EAM Jaishankar said the meeting will discuss and decide on shared activities that take into account the many challenges and opportunities of the world.
“Our focus will clearly be on the Indo-Pacific, which is the specific remit of the Quad. At the global level, we have to address issues such as supply chain resilience, manufacturing and resource concentration, and gaps in critical infrastructure. Each one of them offers a new argument for more partnerships, stronger growth and realising the promise of technologies,” Jaishankar said in his statement.
The Indo-Pacific, the minister said, has its own particular concerns. “This will require enhancing strategic confidence, ensuring maritime security, promoting economic choices and fostering a deeper collaborative ethos, and that is best done by promoting trusted and transparent partnerships,” Jaishankar said.
Key Takeaways from Quad Statement
India, Australia, Japan and the United States of America are united by a common vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, underpinned by robust economic and energy systems, the statement said. Recognising shifts in the global energy landscape and escalating geopolitical complexities, we are accelerating collaboration to ensure energy stability and security, it said.
“We recognise impacts of disruptions to global markets, particularly in relation to oil, gas, and petrochemical products as well as essential goods and critical downstream derivatives such as fertilizers, fall heavily on the Indo-Pacific region,” read the statement.
Our leaders have expressed a clear collective intent to cooperate on energy security and resilience, it said.
The leaders affirmed support on:
1-Reiterate our strong commitment to ensure well-functioning, stable, transparent, secure and resilient energy markets.
2-Reaffirm the importance of resilient and diversified supply chains, including energy products and other downstream commodities.
3-Reinforce the importance of secure and uninterrupted trade flows, including the safety of navigation and the protection of and infrastructure, as essential to global economic stability and energy security. ·
4-Reiterate the importance of ensuring unimpeded freedom of navigation and uninterrupted flow of global commerce, including in the Strait of Hormuz, and opposing any restrictive measures hampering the flow of commercial vessels.
5-Recognise our shared commitment to maintain of energy products.
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6-Affirm the importance of cooperation across the entire energy value chain including the contribution of diversification to energy security. ·
7-Recognise the importance of energy resources for the resilience and prosperity of vulnerable developing countries in the and acknowledge in particular the specific energy security vulnerabilities for small-island developing countries, such as in the Pacific.
8-Maximise efforts to support each other’s and the region’s energy security needs during times of restricted global energy markets.
9-Encourage all energy market participants, including producing, transit, and consuming countries, to maintain transparent and open energy markets to ensure the stable availability of energy products across the Indo-Pacific region and globally in times of significant energy market volatility and disruptions.
10-Highlight the importance of regional initiatives to strengthen energy resilience, such as Japan’s Partnership On Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (POWERR Asia), India’s support to energy security in South Asia and Australia’s support to energy security in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, including through the $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility, Australian Development Investments and support for the , as well as financial assistance to Pacific island countries (including AUD30 million in budget support to Fiji).
-To this end, the United States, Australia, India, and Japan will work to identify areas of cooperation for the Quad Initiative on Indo-Pacific Energy Security in technology, management, policy, international market analysis, and emergency response exercises through an engagement plan.
-This group effort would aim to recognise and leverage the unique resources and capabilities of each country’s energy sector, including strengthening their respective strategic petroleum systems.
-We will work with our partners in the Indo-Pacific to help strengthen regional energy resilience. To achieve this, the Quad will convene a Quad Fuel Security Forum to coordinate high-level discussions and facilitate cooperation.
What is Quad?
The , or the Quad is a grouping of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States that is maintained by talks between member countries. The dialogue is widely perceived to be a a diplomatic arrangement responding to increased .
The grouping was initiated in 2007 by the then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with the support of Australian prime minister John Howard, India’s then prime minister Manmohan Singh and .
China reacts to Quad meeting
China on Tuesday reiterated its stance on the Australia-India-Japan-US group, saying cooperation between countries should contribute to regional peace, stability and prosperity, and should not target 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,” China’s spokesperson, Mao Ning, told a daily press conference.
