India news: Quad nations to surveil Indo-Pacific waters

Foreign ministers from the US, India, Japan, and Australia met in New Delhi to announce new Quad initiatives focused on strengthening influence across the Indo-Pacific. The US will host a Quad energy security forum later this year. A surveillance initiative will integrate the four nations’ surveillance capabilities and share near-real-time data on ship movements, including commercial vessels. An Indo-Pacific energy security initiative will strengthen regional fuel supply chains, with added urgency due to energy disruptions after the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following US-Israeli strikes on Iran. The Quad will work with Fiji to upgrade port infrastructure in Pacific islands, marking its first joint infrastructure project. The nations also agreed on a Critical Mineral Framework.

"The surveillance initiative is meant to integrate the four nations' surveillance capabilities and share near-real-time data on ship movements, including commercial ships. Rubio also announced an Indo-Pacific energy security initiative aimed at strengthening regional fuel supply chains. The agreement takes on special importance amid the disruptions in energy supply due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following US-Israeli strikes on Iran."

"The US will host a Quad energy security forum later this year, Rubio said. The group will also work with Fiji to upgrade port infrastructure in the Pacific islands, marking the Quad's first joint infrastructure project. The four nations also agreed on a "Critical Mineral Framework," Rubio said at the joint briefing without elaborating further."

"I am very happy today that we have real, concrete achievables that we can announce to our countries and the rest of the world, Rubio said in New Delhi, calling the alliance a partnership of action. The statement came after foreign ministers of the US, India, Japan and Australia gathered in New Delhi for a brief meeting on Tuesday morning."

"Ahead of the meeting, Rubio had said that Washington wants the Quad grouping to move beyond dialogue to one of action. The alliance is seen as a counter to China's growing influence and has grown in importance amid shifting geopolitical alliances and recent conflict. "We are deeply committed to this partnership. It is a linchpin in a cornerstone of our global strategy as a nation," he said."

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