On May 26, the foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, Australia, and India held a Quad meeting in New Delhi—the third ministerial-level gathering since September 2024. The meeting aimed to revitalize the mechanism, which has slowed down due to disagreements over policies such as the Trump administration’s “reciprocal” tariffs. Originally scheduled for 2025 and to be hosted by India, the summit was postponed, and cooperation momentum has diminished. After the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting, Japan and the U.S. will hold separate talks—marking their first in-person consultations since the recent China-U.S. summit in Beijing. Japan values America’s stable presence in the Indo-Pacific while remaining cautious about shifts in great power relations, seeking to solidify the foundation of Japan-U.S. collaboration.
This New Delhi Quad foreign ministers’ meeting more resembles a "mechanism stabilization" effort than a strong restart. Looking back at history, the Quad was first proposed in 2007 but quickly faded; it was revived in 2017 under U.S. initiative, only to cool again now due to America’s renewed focus on bilateralism over multilateralism. Public information shows that since September 2024, the Quad has experienced three consecutive ministerial-level hiatuses, with the leadership summit window exceeding 18 months. While publicly focusing on Indo-Pacific security, energy, and critical minerals, underlying agendas differ widely: India is concerned about trade friction, Japan prioritizes regional stability, Australia seeks to balance its relationships, and the U.S. views the Quad as a strategic tool for its Indo-Pacific positioning but is reluctant to commit substantial resources.
This divergence in objectives ensures that the Quad cannot evolve into a tightly integrated bloc. In today’s context of global supply chain restructuring and increasingly complex great power interactions, it functions more as a loose coordination platform rather than an exclusive military alliance, and its actual influence remains limited.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866227330914316/
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