Quad expands maritime law enforcement cooperation to boost regional security

Washington DC [US], July 2 : The Secretary of State of the United States and the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, and Japan met in Washington on July 1, 2025, for the 10th Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting, according to a factsheet released by the US Department of State.

The ministers welcomed recent and upcoming activities conducted by their four countries, and in cooperation with partners, to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific. As per the US Department of State, the ministers also announced key initiatives to strengthen maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technology, and support humanitarian assistance and emergency response across the region.

The factsheet stated that the Quad Foreign Ministers announced the launch of the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative, an ambitious expansion of their partnership to strengthen economic security and collective resilience by collaborating on securing and diversifying critical mineral supply chains. This new flagship initiative, along with other high-impact programs and outcomes being realized by the Quad, aims to bring economic opportunity and prosperity to their people and the wider region.

In the area of maritime and transnational security, the Quad is expanding maritime law enforcement cooperation with the region. This will support efforts to curtail illicit maritime activity, including piracy, drug trafficking, infringements on border security, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. According to the US Department of State, the Quad launched the first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission this month to strengthen interoperability and knowledge-sharing to best address unlawful maritime activities across the region. Quad partners have embarked as observers on a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter that departed Palau and is scheduled to disembark in Guam this week.

Later in the month, the Quad will hold the second maritime legal dialogue to advance efforts to uphold maritime order. The Quad also continues to implement the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), which includes the increased provision of space-based collection and sharing of radio frequency data, analytical training, and capacity building. The Quad intends to geographically expand the IPMDA across the Indian Ocean region and explore the development of an IPMDA common operating picture.

In 2025, the Quad also intends to conduct the first Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI) workshop to assess capability gaps and enhance maritime capabilities in consultation with regional partners.

On economic prosperity and security, the Quad reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring a free and open region and promoting prosperity for all people in the Indo-Pacific. It aims to strengthen energy security and promote resilient supply chains and quality infrastructure that is transparent and secure. The Quad Critical Minerals Initiative will enhance cooperation on priorities such as securing and diversifying reliable supply chains, as well as electronic waste (e-waste) critical minerals recovery and re-processing. The initiative is expected to expand Quad cooperation on supply chain resilience for critical minerals, and Quad partners plan to coordinate with the private sector to facilitate increased investments.

The Quad will also formally launch the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership by hosting a transportation and logistics conference with Indo-Pacific partners in Mumbai in October 2025. The conference will facilitate knowledge exchange and dialogue on advanced ports and logistics practices and mobilize both government and private sector investments in quality port infrastructure. This initiative will complement the Quad Infrastructure Fellowships Program, which is aimed at boosting infrastructure expertise across the region.

The Quad continues to advance the Quad Partnership on Cable Connectivity and Resilience. This year, the United States and India will co-host an undersea cables forum with participation from Quad partners to identify opportunities for digital infrastructure collaboration. The forum will encourage regulatory harmonization to enable more efficient access for Quad partner companies. Meanwhile, Australia's Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre is working with partner governments to strengthen undersea cable policies and regulations.

On critical and emerging technology, the Quad recognized the transformative power of secure and trusted information and communications technology infrastructure. The group will continue working on artificial intelligence, semiconductors, technical standards, biotechnology, and cybersecurity. In partnership with the private sector, the Quad will promote digital infrastructure projects that support security, interoperability, and innovation across the Indo-Pacific. The group also plans to build on lessons learned from the Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) deployment in Palau and consider future deployments.

The Quad remains committed to advancing research in artificial intelligence, robotics, and sensing to transform agriculture and empower farmers in the region through the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) initiative. The Quad STEM Fellowship continues to build connections among the next generation of science and technology leaders. The next cohort will include graduate student fellows based in Japan. Additionally, India has launched the Quad STEM scholarships initiative for fifty students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue four-year undergraduate engineering degrees at government-funded technical institutions.

On humanitarian assistance and emergency response, the Quad reaffirmed its commitment to support efforts to prevent and contain health security threats in the Indo-Pacific. Following the earthquake in central Myanmar in March 2025, the Quad jointly contributed over USD 30 million in humanitarian assistance to affected communities. That same month, India hosted a Quad workshop on pandemic preparedness, with participation from 15 Indo-Pacific countries. The workshop aimed to strengthen global health emergency frameworks and enhance regional resilience.

According to the US Department of State, the initiatives outlined at the meeting reflect the Quad's shared resolve to deepen cooperation and strengthen regional partnerships. The Department also emphasized the importance of the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative and the Quad-at-Sea mission in addressing pressing regional and global challenges.

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