US, Japan, Australia-India Launch Indo-Pacific Energy Resilience Initiative

JAKARTA - The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) group consisting of the United States, Japan, Australia, and India will launch an initiative to strengthen energy resilience in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Finally, we will announce the QUAD initiative on Indo-Pacific energy security that will help strengthen regional energy resilience," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after the QUAD Foreign Ministers' meeting, Tuesday, May 26, reported by ANTARA from Sputnik/RIA Novosti-OANA. Sputnik/RIA Novosti-OANA.

According to Rubio, through this initiative, the partners will work to identify areas of cooperation in technology and management as well as international market policies and analysis and conduct emergency response exercises.

In addition, the Quad countries will also launch a critical minerals framework to strengthen the supply chain of important minerals.

The cooperation covers the mining, processing, and recycling of critical minerals through investment coordination and the use of economic policy instruments.

Rubio explained that the Quad countries also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the development of port infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region and maritime surveillance cooperation initiatives to increase information exchange in the region.

The Quad will expand a maritime domain awareness system that allows regional countries to obtain commercial ship data in near real time.

Rubio also expressed appreciation to India, which will host the next Quad maritime mission.

According to him, the mission will bring together coast guards from member countries in one ship to strengthen maritime coordination.

Rubio said the Quad countries represent about a third of global gross domestic product and nearly two billion people.

He emphasized that Quad should not only be a regular discussion forum, but also a real action mechanism.

Rubio added that maritime security is an important issue not only for the Quad countries, but also for many other countries because about 60 percent of world maritime trade passes through the Indo-Pacific region.