‘Vital national interest’: Rubio highlights Indo-Pacific trade in Quad deal
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has signed a security and critical minerals agreement with the US, India and Japan.
The Quad agreement will combine the countries’ surveillance capabilities to provide real-time updates on maritime traffic.
The minister said the agreement to coordinate surveillance in the Indian Ocean is intended to support transparency in the region.
This $20 million side agreement is expected to improve the flow of critical minerals between the four countries.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on this.
“60 per cent of global maritime trade passes through the Indo-Pacific, and it is a vital national interest, not just to the four countries represented here today but to countless countries around the world.”
