Year: 2025

The Quad’s most recent Foreign Ministers’ Meeting took place in Washington, D.C. on July 1, 2025. At the summit, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of Australia, India and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The four partners discussed how to improve their security cooperation through joint maritime training, even as they seek to find alternatives to China’s rare earth monopoly. These critical minerals are important for many high-tech defense systems, which would be necessary during a potential crisis in the Taiwan Strait. However, are Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” tariffs putting a strain on the Quad? And is Secretary Rubio over-extended in his dual roles as U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor? In this episode, we discuss the Quad’s latest meeting, regional maritime security issues, China rare earths, and Marco Rubio. Our guests: Stephen Tan International Policy Advisory Group Managing Director Wang Kai-chun Kuomintang (KMT) Department of International Affairs Assistant Director Chapters: 00:00:00 – Quad Meets as U.S. Rethinks Strategy 00:00:52 – Are Quad’s Maritime Efforts about China? 00:05:51 – How Can Joint Training Improve Cooperation? 00:07:23 – Quad Seeks Rare Earth Alternatives 00:11:21 – Are Tariffs Straining Quad Collaboration? 00:15:57 – U.S. Diplomatic Priorities Scrutinized 00:22:23 – Is Rubio Overextended at State and NSC? #Quad #MarcoRubio #USSecertaryofState #USNationalSecurityAdvisor #NSA #USNationalSecurityCouncil #NSC #USMilitary #MilitaryCooperation #ChineseMilitary #ChineseNavy #PeoplesLiberationArmy #PLA #USForeignPolicy #IndoPacific #SouthChinaSea #TaiwanStrait #JointTraining #USDiplomacy #USNationalSecurity #RareEarths #RareEarthMinerals #RareEarthMetals #DonaldTrump #TrumpTariffs #India #Japan #Australia #TaiwanTalks