At the Edge of Relevance

The Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, and Japan, and the Secretary of State of the United States of America, met in New Delhi on 26 May 2026 for the much-awaited Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting hosted by India to affirm their support for ‘a free and open Indo-Pacific’ that allows countries to develop resilience and strengthen capacity to determine their own paths.

- DIPANKAR DEY

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) partners reiterated their commitments to working with regional partners to address a wide-ranging geo-political challenges through tangible initiatives focused on the four key pillars of Quad: maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technologies, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response.

The four partner countries of Quad, established in 2007, announced new initiatives on maritime surveillance, critical mineral supply chains, and energy security. In a statement, the Quad foreign ministers also said they “remain seriously concerned about the situation” in the disputed South China Sea and the East China Sea.

“We reiterate our strong opposition to any destabilising or unilateral actions, including by force or coercion that threaten peace and stability in the region,” they added. The foreign ministers of the Quad grouping agreed to jointly build a port in Fiji and signed pacts covering critical minerals and energy security. The initiative could be significant for Japan after China halted shipments of some minerals used in aerospace, defence, and semiconductor industries following a diplomatic dispute.

China strongly criticised the Quad alliance, warning the group against targeting other countries. Reacting to the Quad’s meet, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news briefing, “We do not support exclusive ‘small circles’ or bloc confrontation, and no cooperation should undermine mutual trust and cooperation among countries in the region. We have always believed that cooperation between countries should help promote regional peace, stability, and prosperity and should not target any third party” she added.

WANING SIGNIFICANCE OF QUAD