India news: Quad nations to surveil Indo-Pacific waters

What you need to know

• Foreign ministers of the US, India, Japan and Australia meet in New Delhi 
• Top US diplomat Marco Rubio announces critial minerals agreement among Quad nations
• Bharatiya Janata Party members marks 12 years of Modi as Prime Minister
• Indian weather agency warns of 'high probability' of heat wave in north, central India until June 4

Here are the biggest headlines from India on Tuesday, May 26:

Jaishankar, Rubio sign bilateral framework on critical minerals

New Delhi and Washington have agreed on a bilateral framework for securing supplies of mining and the processing of critical minerals and rare earths, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told the press on Tuesday. 

The comments came as Jaishankar and Rubio signed the framework agreement in New Delhi.

"This is something we have also discussed today at the Quad meeting and whether we are doing it bilaterally, or in the Quad format or as a larger gathering of like-minded nations, it is something very timely and critical," Jaishankar said.

The Indian minister said the framework aims to deepen cooperation across the entire  supply chain, including mining, processing, recycling and related investment.

"It will strengthen resilient and diversified supply chains, help us to collaborate on financing and with the effective management of critical minerals and rare earths,"

"It is one more sign of how close our cooperation is in a world where there are so many challenges but also so many opportunities," he said.

Quad nations agree on mineral sharing, Indo-Pacific surveillance and more

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a slew of initiatives among the Quad nations to strengthen the group's dominance over the Indo-Pacific, including shared surveillance of the waters. 

“I am very happy today…that we have real, concrete achievables that we can announce to our countries and the rest of the world,” Rubio said in New Delhi, calling the alliance a “partnership of action.”

The statement came after foreign ministers of the US, India, Japan and Australia gathered in New Delhi for a brief meeting on Tuesday morning. 

The surveillance initiative is meant to integrate the four nations' surveillance capabilities and share near-real-time data on ship movements, including commercial ships.

Rubio also announced an Indo-Pacific energy security initiative aimed at strengthening regional fuel supply chains. The agreement takes on special importance amid the disruptions in energy supply due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following US-Israeli strikes on Iran. 

The US will host a Quad energy security forum later this year, Rubio said. 

The group will also work with Fiji to upgrade port infrastructure in the Pacific islands, marking the Quad's first joint infrastructure project. 

The four nations also agreed on a "Critical Mineral Framework," Rubio said at the joint briefing without elaborating further. "The framework will strengthen critical mineral supply chains in mining, processing, and recycling. Coordination across the Quad helps reduce vulnerabilities and supports long-term economic security." US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on X.

Ahead of the meeting, Rubio had said that Washington wants the Quad grouping to move beyond dialogue to one of action. The alliance is seen as a counter to China's growing influence and has grown in importance amid shifting geopolitical alliances and recent conflict.

"We are deeply committed to this partnership. It is a linchpin in a cornerstone of our global strategy as a nation," he said. 

The four nations represent about 30% of the world’s GDP and nearly 2 billion people.

Speaking of the Strait of Hormuz, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Indo-Pacific was facing "acute economic stress" and warned that any closure of the strait would have serious consequences for regional energy security.

 "We recognize the importance of maintaining the principle of freedom of navigation and our opposition to any tolling proposition," Wong said, referring to Iran's plan to charge vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Welcome to our coverage

Good morning! And welcome to DW’s India news blog. 

This is Mahima Kapoor from the New Delhi bureau, here to bring to you every major headline with all the context you need. 

It has been a substantial morning in New Delhi with the foreign ministers of the US, Japan, Australia, and India – aka Quad – announcing a slew of initiatives to strengthen their dominance on Indo-Pacific maritime operations. That includes surveillance and data sharing agreements.

The US Secretary of State called the informal grouping a “partnership of action,” and all diplomats seemed elated with the results of the brief meeting on Tuesday morning. 

Tuesday also marks 12 years of Narendra Modi as India's Prime Minister, a feat only previously achieved by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. He has been a popular, yet controversial and divisive figure in Indian politics, but one who is still growing in his influence over India.

Meanwhile, much of the Indian masses continue to suffer heat waves with no relief in sight. As of Tuesday morning, 46 of the top 50 hottest cities of the world were in India, according to open-source pollution and weather tracking platform AQI.IN.

We have all of this and more. Stay tuned.