Quad moves to weaken China's rare-earths grip

NEW DELHI: Amid shared concerns about China's control of critical minerals , Quad announced a key critical minerals initiative to diversify and secure supply chains, looking to reduce reliance on China that could lead to economic coercion, price manipulation and disruptions. In a joint statement, the Quad foreign ministers also deplored China's actions in East and South China Seas.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio hosted his counterparts from India, Japan and Australia - S Jaishankar, Takeshi Iwaya and Penny Wong respectively - for the Quad foreign ministers' meeting ahead of the summit that will be held in India later this year.

The foreign ministers said in the joint statement that they were deeply concerned about the abrupt constriction and future reliability of key supply chains, specifically for critical minerals, including the use of non-market policies and practices for critical minerals, certain derivative products, and mineral processing technology.

"We underscore the importance of diversified and reliable global supply chains. 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, which further harms our economic and national security," said the joint statement, without naming China.

Quad also announced a "new, ambitious, and strong agenda" focused on four key areas: maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technology, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response. "Through this renewed focus, we will sharpen the Quad's ability to leverage our resources to address the region's most pressing challenges," it said.

The minister also expressed concern about the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea , reiterating their strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.

"We express our serious concerns regarding dangerous and provocative actions, including interference with offshore resource development, the repeated obstruction of the freedoms of navigation and overflight, and the dangerous manoeuvres by military aircraft and coast guard and maritime militia vessels, especially the unsafe use of water cannons and ramming or blocking actions in the South China Sea," said the joint statement.

The joint statement said that Quad plans to host the first Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network field training exercise this year to strengthen shared airlift capacity and leverage collective logistics strengths to respond to natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently, providing support for regional partners.