Quad emphasises energy security in Indo-Pacific; fuel security forum for deeper collaboration announced
New Delhi, May 26
India, Australia, Japan and the United States of America reiterated their commitment towards ensuring energy stability and security and announced their intention to convene a Quad Fuel Security Forum to coordinate high-level discussions and facilitate cooperation in these areas.
The details were shared by the Ministry of External Affairs in the Quad Statement on Indo-Pacific Energy Security.
It said that the United States, Australia, India, and Japan will work to identify areas of cooperation for the Quad Initiative on Indo-Pacific Energy Security in technology, management, policy, international market analysis, and emergency response exercises through an engagement plan.
To achieve this, the Quad will convene a Quad Fuel Security Forum to coordinate high-level discussions and facilitate cooperation, which would aim to recognise and leverage the unique resources and capabilities of each country's energy sector, including to strengthen their respective strategic petroleum systems.
"We recognise impacts of disruptions to global markets, particularly in relation to oil, gas, and petrochemical products as well as essential goods and critical downstream derivatives such as fertilisers, fall heavily on the Indo-Pacific region. Our leaders have expressed a clear collective intent to cooperate on energy security and resilience", the statement said.
The Quad countries affirmed their support towards a strong commitment to ensuring well-functioning, stable, transparent, secure and resilient energy markets.
They reinforced the importance of secure and uninterrupted trade flows, including the safety of navigation and the protection of critical maritime routes and infrastructure, as essential to global economic stability and energy security and underlined the importance of ensuring unimpeded freedom of navigation and uninterrupted flow of global commerce, including in the Strait of Hormuz, and opposing any restrictive measures hampering the flow of commercial vessels.
The Quad members highlighted the importance of regional initiatives to strengthen energy resilience, such as Japan's Partnership On Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (POWERR Asia),India's support to energy security in South Asia and Australia's support to energy security in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, including through the $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility, Australian Development Investments and support for the ASEAN Power Grid, as well as financial assistance to Pacific island countries (including AUD30 million in budget support to Fiji).
The member countries noted the need to cooperate across the entire energy value chain, including the contribution of diversification to energy security and also acknowledged the specific energy security vulnerabilities for small-island developing countries, such as in the Pacific.
In times of significant energy market volatility and disruptions, the members encouraged all energy market participants, including producing, transit, and consuming countries, to maintain transparent and open energy markets to ensure the stable availability of energy products across the Indo-Pacific region.
— ANI
Reader Comments
"Unimpeded freedom of navigation" explicitly mentioning Strait of Hormuz? That's a direct message to anyone disrupting shipping lanes. For India, 85% of our crude passes through that chokepoint. We need global cooperation like this to keep prices stable and supply chains unbroken.
Good to see India's leadership in South Asian energy security highlighted, but I hope this isn't just another geopolitical statement. We need concrete action—like actual investments in renewables and grid connectivity. Diversification shouldn't just mean swapping one fossil fuel supplier for another.
Interesting they mention fertilisers as critical downstream derivatives. Russia-Ukraine war showed us how dependent we are on imported fert. If Quad can stabilise natural gas markets for fertiliser production, it'll directly benefit our farmers. Let's see the follow-through.
Australia's $2 billion Southeast Asia investment facility and support for ASEAN Power Grid—this is smart. Energy connectivity in our neighbourhood reduces China's stranglehold on infrastructure. But we must ensure small Pacific islands aren't just pawns in great power games. They genuinely need resilient power. 🏝️
A practical step forward. India's IITs and energy research labs can contribute significantly to the technology and management aspects. With Quad members bringing different strengths, this could become a model for how democracies collaborate on critical infrastructure.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.