Quad launches Indo-Pacific monitor plan as Hormuz crisis deepens

[WASHINGTON] The US, Japan, India and Australia on Tuesday (May 26) launched a maritime surveillance initiative for the Indo-Pacific region, among other measures.

This comes as the countries’ foreign ministers gathered in New Delhi for a high-profile summit, aimed at countering growing threats to commerce.

The meeting comes as Iran discusses establishing a permanent tolling system that would formalise its control over maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.

Iran effectively closed the strait in response to US-Israeli airstrikes that triggered the war in late February.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that the region faces “acute economic stress”, and told reporters after the Quad ministers’ meeting that she was opposed to any “tolling proposition”.

The four nations also announced plans to partner with Fiji on port infrastructure, in what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called an “exciting” initiative.

“We’re going to be partnering on issues of port infrastructure, in particular in response to insufficient port capacity in the Pacific Islands,” he said. He also announced plans on energy and critical minerals partnerships within the bloc, without sharing details. 

The Quad, formed as a strategic grouping to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region, met under the shadow of the Iran war, which has now dragged on for nearly three months.

The gathering also comes as the group seeks to revive momentum after recent tensions between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2025.

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In 2025, Trump raised tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent due to purchases of Russian oil, which were subsequently lowered after talks.

Rubio has been visiting India over the past few days in a bid to bolster the relationship, which has also suffered after Trump claimed to have brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan last year – an assertion New Delhi rejected.

The Quad grouping’s leaders have not met since 2024, raising fears that it has lost some of its earlier traction.

The meeting follows talks last week between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to stabilise ties, even as Beijing continues to pressure Taiwan and assert its territorial claims throughout the region.

“It is important for the US to sustain and maintain regional mechanisms and institutions to ensure that further strategic drift in the region is avoided,” said Meera Shankar, India’s former ambassador to the US.

The grouping gained prominence during Trump’s first term as part of a tougher US stance on China, though his preference for bilateral deal-making raised questions about Washington’s commitment to allies and defence partners in Asia.

India has traditionally adopted a non-aligned stance, positioning itself as a bridge between rival global powers. Following Modi’s dust-up with Trump last year, he visited Beijing for a regional summit and held a friendly chat with both Xi and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar described Tuesday’s meeting as “substantive and productive”, and said that the leaders’ discussions focused on ensuring “safe and unimpeded” maritime commerce.

For India, hosting the gathering underscores its effort to deepen strategic ties with Western partners through the Quad while maintaining its role in Brics, which New Delhi will host in September at a summit likely to include Xi and Putin. BLOOMBERG