Foreign ministers from the Quad alliance agreed on July 1 to cooperate on securing and diversifying critical mineral supply chains amid efforts to tackle challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
The four-nation bloc—which includes the United States, Australia, Japan, and India—announced the launch of the “Quad Critical Minerals Initiative” following a meeting in Washington.
In a joint statement, the ministers said the initiative will expand their cooperation on supply chain resilience measures for critical minerals to enhance economic security in the face of growing challenges in the Indo-Pacific.
They raised concerns over the risks of relying on a single country for processing and refining critical minerals, saying it could lead to economic coercion, price manipulation, and supply chain disruptions….