(AFP) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Tuesday for a revival of joint cooperation with Australia, India, and Japan — the so-called Quad grouping viewed suspiciously by China — following disagreement on Iran and questions over US commitment. The meeting in New Delhi comes 10 days after US President Donald Trump paid a friendly state visit to China and spoke glowingly of the two powers working together as a “G2” — a concept that the US allies who are concerned about Beijing’s rise fear could shut them out.
Rubio took the symbolic step of meeting Quad foreign ministers in Washington within hours of being sworn in last year, and the four gathered again in Washington in July 2025. However, a Quad summit expected last year did not happen, with Trump not committing to travel to India for it, despite his predecessor Joe Biden’s vow that the four-way leaders’ summits would be “here to stay.”
Meeting his counterparts in New Delhi, Rubio said the Quad has become “even more relevant and more important because of recent events around the world.” “Our goal collectively over the last year has been to turn this from a forum in which we meet and talk about problems, to one where we actually do something about it,” he said, mentioning that cooperation was progressing “pretty aggressively.” He emphasized that the Quad should cooperate on securing the supply of critical minerals, a rare area in which the Trump administration has turned to the more traditional diplomacy of building networks with allies, concerned about China’s dominance in resources key to the high-end technology sector.
Other areas of cooperation include freedom of navigation, humanitarian responses, and energy security, Rubio added. “Each of these four nations represented here today bring unique capabilities, that collectively we can bring to bear on some of the most significant problems facing the world,” Rubio stated.
**- Disagreement on Iran -**
Freedom of navigation has long been Washington’s code word for opposing China’s assertiveness at sea, a particular concern for Japan. However, the United States has recently pointed to the principle as it tries to rally allies to counter Iran, which has exerted control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz in response to a US-Israeli war launched on February 28, sending global oil prices spiraling. No US ally other than Israel has robustly supported the decision to attack Iran, enraging Trump, who has questioned the reliability of US partners, whom he had not consulted beforehand.
India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, stated that the focus of the talks would be “the Indo-Pacific, which is the specific limit of the Quad.” Besides Iran, India has differed with the other Quad nations on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by refusing to sever its long-standing relationship with Moscow.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong mentioned that there was much to focus on in Asia, due to its “deteriorating strategic environment and acute economic stress.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is one of the few world leaders who has voiced some understanding for the Iran war, citing concerns about its disputed nuclear program, but he has not assisted the war effort, and Trump expressed that he was “not happy with Australia.”
Japan and India both historically have maintained cordial relations with Iran, although they grudgingly complied with US sanctions aimed at stopping all other countries from buying Iranian oil. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, holding a bilateral meeting with India on Monday, emphasized the importance of addressing an “increasingly severe” global security situation. “The world is faced with the most significant structural change in the post-World War II era, driven by a shift in the balance of power and the intensification of conflict and confrontation,” Motegi stated.
– Shaun TANDON
© 2024 AFP
