NEW DELHI (AFP) — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday called for renewed momentum in the Quad alliance with Australia, India and Japan, even as differences over Iran and uncertainty about US commitment raised questions about the group’s staying power.
The meeting in New Delhi came 10 days after President Donald Trump’s state visit to China, where he spoke warmly of US-China cooperation as a potential “G2” arrangement, unsettling allies wary of Beijing’s growing influence.
Rubio met Quad foreign ministers in Washington within hours of taking office last year, and the group convened again there in July 2025. But a leaders’ summit expected in India last year never materialized after Trump declined to commit to the trip, despite former President Joe Biden’s pledge that the meetings were “here to stay.”
Speaking alongside his counterparts in New Delhi, Rubio said the Quad had become “even more relevant and more important because of recent events around the world.”
“Our goal collectively over the last year has been to turn this from a forum in which we meet and talk about problems, to one where we actually do something about it,” Rubio said, adding cooperation was advancing “pretty aggressively.”
Rubio said the four nations should deepen cooperation on critical minerals, an area where Washington is seeking to counter China’s dominance in resources vital to advanced technology. He also cited work on freedom of navigation, humanitarian response and energy security.
“Each of these four nations represented here today bring unique capabilities, that collectively we can bring to bear on some of the most significant problems facing the world,” Rubio said.
Still, divisions surfaced over Iran and broader security priorities.
Washington has increasingly invoked freedom of navigation as it seeks support against Iran following the US-Israeli war launched 28 February, which triggered tensions around the Strait of Hormuz and drove up oil prices.
India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, stressed that discussions would focus on “the Indo-Pacific, which is the specific limit of the Quad.”
India also has resisted pressure to cut ties with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, diverging from the other Quad nations.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong pointed to Asia’s “deteriorating strategic environment and acute economic stress” as a key concern for the group.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, meeting separately with Indian officials on Monday, warned of an “increasingly severe” global security environment.
“The world is faced with the most significant structural change in the post-World War II era, driven by a shift in the balance of power and the intensification of conflict and confrontation,” Motegi said.