Australia, India, Japan and the United States used a meeting of “the Quad” to announce a deal to work more closely to secure supply chains for critical minerals, including rare earths — a sector dominated by China. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/02/japan/politics/quad-nations-critical-minerals-initiative/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #quad #us #australia #india #china #minerals #china #southchinasea #eastchinasea #northkorea

The U.S. is shifting away from broad multilateralism toward smaller minilateral alliances, compelling allies like Japan to boost defense commitments and align more directly with Washington’s strategic priorities. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/06/26/world/trump-and-death-of-multilateralism/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #nato #g7#aukus #quad #indopacific #china #us #donaldtrump #usjapanrelations #chinausrelations #euusrelations