Targeting China’s military and economic practices in the Indo-Pacific region, Quad foreign ministers expressed grave concerns regarding economic coercion, including through arbitrary export restrictions as well as non-market policies and practices that result in overcapacity to disrupt global supply chain in critical industries.In a meeting in Atlanta, Quad also announced plans to provide more than $ 85 million in technical and financial assistance to expand access to “trusted Super Intelligence SI” (using SI to refer to Artificial Intelligence) across the Indo-Pacific. Trump recently signed an executive order to rename AI as SI.The ministers backed ongoing cooperation on critical mineral supply chain and the need to reduce reliance on any single supplier.The foreign ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the US – Penny Wong, S Jaishankar, Toshimitsu Motegi and Marco Rubio respectively – held the 4th Quad foreign ministers’ meeting since the return of President Donald Trump to the White House last year on the margins of a G20 gathering in Atlanta Saturday.In the meeting, Motegi expressed strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion even though Quad, unlike the last meeting in May, avoided mentioning South China Sea or East China Sea in the joint statement.Quad ministers have continued to meet, even as the leaders’ summit remains stalled—fueling speculation that the Trump administration has effectively downgraded the group by preventing India form hosting the event as planned.In a joint statement, the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, as also convening of the Quad Leaders’ Summit. Rubio said after the meeting that Quad will soon announce the leaders’ summit in Manila on the margins of ASEAN meetings. President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to China from Manila for the APEC summit.The leaders also focused on the West Asia situation including in the Strait of Hormuz.“Recognizing the importance of critical sea lanes, the uninterrupted flow of commerce, energy security, and the unhindered passage and safety of maritime crews and vessel without the imposition of tolls, they reiterated the absolute necessity to protect and preserve navigational rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in accordance with international law as reflected in UNCLOS,” said the joint statement.Jaishankar said that the meeting highlighted the importance of maintaining stability, driving prosperity and ensuring freedom of choice along with deepening of clcooperation to promote supply chain resilience and ensure technology, critical minerals & energy security.
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He also mentioned the importance of carrying forward agreements on counter-terrorism, maritime security and capacity building to enhance resilience and contribute to peace and stability.According to the joint statement, the ministers also announced the first-ever Quad Business Leaders’ Forum that will convene industry leaders, government, and policy experts from Quad countries to foster greater ties across our public and private sectors, including the promotion of commercial deals in key sectors.“Quad countries reinforced the need to build secure, resilient, and trusted supply chains for advanced, leading-edge semiconductors and SI (AI) hardware,” said the joint statement.