US, Japan, India, Australia pledge mineral cooperation
The United States, Japan, India and Australia pledged Tuesday to work together to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals, as worries grow over China's dominance in resources vital to new technologies. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed his counterparts from the so-called 'Quad' to Washington in a shift of focus to Asia, after spending much of his first six months on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and on President Donald Trump's domestic priorities such as migration.
The four countries said in a joint statement that they were establishing the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative, aimed at 'collaborating on securing and diversifying' supply chains. They offered little detail but made clear the goal was to reduce reliance on China, which has used restrictions as leverage as the United States in turn curbs its access to semiconductors and as Trump threatens steep tariffs — including on Quad countries.
'Reliance on any one country for processing and refining critical minerals and derivative goods production exposes our industries to economic coercion, price manipulation and supply chain disruptions,' the statement said. The ministers were careful not to mention China by name but voiced 'serious concerns regarding dangerous and provocative actions' in the South China Sea and East China Sea that 'threaten peace and stability in the region.' China holds major reserves of several key minerals including the vast majority of the world's graphite, which is crucial for electric vehicles. In brief remarks alongside the other ministers, Rubio said he has 'personally been very focused' on diversifying supply chains and wanted 'real progress.' The four-way partnership was first conceived by late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who saw an alliance of democracies surrounding China — which has repeatedly alleged that the Quad is a way to contain it. Rubio had welcomed the Quad foreign ministers on January 21 in his first meeting after Trump's inauguration, seen as a sign the new administration would prioritize engagement with like-minded countries to counter China.
But to the surprise of many, China has not topped the early agenda of Trump, who has spoken respectfully about his counterpart Xi Jinping and reached a truce with Beijing to avoid a wider trade war between the world's two largest economies.
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