Quad remains 'vital', says Japanese Foreign Minister, rejecting concerns over the grouping's relevance

📌 Summary:

• Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi described the Quad as a "vital framework", rejecting concerns that the four-nation grouping had lost relevance.
• The Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting (FMM), hosted by EAM S. Jaishankar, brings together Motegi, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
• 'Cooperation over Critical Minerals' — needed for green energy and hi-tech — will top the FMM agenda.
• The FMM is expected to review the Iran conflict, the Strait of Hormuz blockade and U.S. President Trump's China visit, and set the agenda for a Quad Summit (none held since 2024 amid India-U.S. tensions).
• The Quad finds little mention in recent strategy documents — the U.S. National Security Strategy (Nov 2025) and Japan's 'Updated Free and Open Indo-Pacific' policy (which mentions the Quad once, on critical minerals).
• Motegi said the Quad has delivered concrete results in maritime security, economic security and cybersecurity.
• The critical minerals focus signals concern over China's dominance — China holds vast reserves, processes about 90% of the minerals and frequently restricts exports.
• A separate Japan-India bilateral critical minerals partnership was launched during PM Modi's August 2025 Tokyo visit; Japan has worked on rare earth refining in India since the 2010s.
• Motegi sought from India: protection of intellectual property rights and trade secrets, expanded subsidies, and improved infrastructure to advance projects.
• Japan reaffirmed Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) infrastructure plans — the Matarbari deep-sea port in Bangladesh and connectivity to northeast India, Bhutan and Nepal.

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — bilateral and plurilateral groupings, India's Indo-Pacific strategy, critical minerals as a dimension of economic security and supply-chain resilience.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Quad members: India, United States, Japan, Australia
• Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting 2026 hosted by India
• China processes roughly 90% of the world's critical/rare earth minerals
• POWERR Asia — Japan's proposed Partnership On Wide Energy and Resources Resilience
• Matarbari deep-sea port — located in Bangladesh

🔑 Key Term: Quad — the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, an informal strategic grouping of India, the U.S., Japan and Australia working towards a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.