The United States, Japan, India and Australia have agreed to pursue joint maritime surveillance to secure freedom of navigation and safety in the Indo-Pacific region.
The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that foreign ministers of the four countries of the Quad, the Indo-Pacific security consultative body, unveiled the launch of the "Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Cooperation Initiative" at a press conference following their meeting in New Delhi on June 26 (local time).
"This initiative will leverage our nations' maritime surveillance capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen information sharing," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. "In this regard, the Quad's Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative, which provides commercial maritime domain awareness data to countries bordering the Indo-Pacific, will also be expanded to the Indian Ocean."
The Quad's Indo-Pacific maritime surveillance cooperation and maritime domain awareness announced by Rubio appear to take into account the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz caused by the U.S.-Israel-Iran war and the resulting disruptions to maritime transport of energy and other goods.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong pointed to the impact of Iran's Hormuz blockade on energy security and the economy, emphasizing the principle of freedom of navigation while making clear her opposition to proposals to impose transit fees.
The announcement reflects the Quad nations' collective resolve, led by the United States, to jointly respond in defense of freedom of navigation should Iran seek to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz after the war. It is also seen as carrying the meaning of checking China, which has been strengthening its maritime sovereignty claims in areas such as the South China Sea.
The Quad foreign ministers discussed energy security issues stemming from the Iran war and agreed to pursue a critical minerals cooperation framework to counter China's rare earth export controls. The four countries decided to strengthen energy supply chains, and the United States plans to host a "Quad Energy Security Forum" later this year.
The Quad previously announced the launch of the "Quad Critical Minerals Initiative" at its foreign ministers' meeting in July last year, in response to China's rare earth export controls amid the U.S.-China tariff dispute at the time.
Wednesday's meeting was attended by Rubio and Wong, along with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
The Quad is a security consultative body launched in 2004 to check China's expanding influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Initially a ministerial-level forum, it was elevated to a leaders' summit by then-U.S. President Joe Biden in 2021. The Quad summit, which had been scheduled to take place in India late last year, was cancelled amid conflicts between the United States and India over tariff issues.
