Japan-U.S.-Australia-India Talks: Make Quad Meeting a Step toward Rebuilding Multilateral Cooperation

Editorial

15:06 JST, May 28, 2026

Amid ongoing turmoil in the global economy over the securing of crude oil and other energy resources, China — a major producer of critical minerals — is intensifying its economic coercion by restricting exports of these materials.

Under these circumstances, it is significant that a meeting of foreign ministers of the Quad, a framework for security cooperation among Japan, the United States, Australia and India, was held in India and the ministers agreed on concrete cooperation, including ensuring a stable energy supply. It is hoped that this meeting will serve as an opportunity to rebuild the framework for multilateral cooperation.

This was the first Quad foreign ministers’ meeting since July last year. The four nations this time positioned resolving concerns over energy as their top priority and confirmed their policy of working together to provide financial support to countries in the Indo-Pacific region, among other efforts.

They also agreed to establish a framework for cooperation aimed at securing critical minerals, such as rare earth elements. They will expand investments to promote mining, processing and recycling. The aim is to build supply chains that do not rely on China.

Following the foreign ministers’ meeting, they issued a joint statement that included close cooperation on ensuring maritime security, among other matters.

In the South China Sea, China Coast Guard vessels have repeatedly engaged in dangerous actions, such as ramming Philippine ships. Although the joint statement avoided naming China directly, it expressed their “serious concerns regarding dangerous and coercive actions.”

The four nations must continue to work closely together and maintain a stance that will not tolerate unilateral changes to the status quo by force.

A key concern this time was whether the United States and India — whose relations have deteriorated due to the former’s high-tariff policies — can act in concert. From that perspective, the fact that the four nations reached agreement on various agenda items can be seen as a cause for relief, at least for now.

Quad summits have been suspended since September 2024, before U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to power. It is important to lead to the resumption of the summits based on the outcomes of this meeting.

During the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed the view that it is vital for the Quad to be not merely a forum for discussing challenges, but a venue for actually taking concrete action to resolve them.

Although Trump has downplayed the importance of multilateral frameworks, Rubio likely thought that close cooperation with Japan, Australia and India is indispensable in confronting a rising China.

Recent ongoing efforts by the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to increase the number of like-minded nations are timely.

Takaichi is scheduled to meet today (May 28) with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is currently visiting Japan, to confirm deepening security cooperation. It is crucial for Japan to actively pursue summit diplomacy and take the lead in stabilizing the region.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 28, 2026)