Critical minerals in Southeast Asia and India

6. Emerging frameworks for cooperation on Critical Minerals

An expanding network of bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral mechanisms is available to India and ASEAN, spanning investment promotion, technology transfer and responsible mining practices. Australia, United States, Japan and Korea have all been forging new partnerships and initiatives with ASEAN member states to further strengthen values chains and unlock investment opportunities. The proliferation of initiatives nonetheless risks fragmentation through overlapping mandates.

India, ASEAN and their regional partners can leverage an expanding network of cooperative frameworks to enhance the resilience and sustainability of critical mineral supply chains. Multiple bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral mechanisms have been established to promote investment, technology transfer, and responsible mining practices (Table 4). Beyond governments, private and non-governmental initiatives – such as the Quad Investors Network launched at the May 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit – are also mobilising capital for strategic sectors. The IEA estimates that 70% of the financing required to meet clean-energy pledges will need to come from private sources (IEA, 2021[75]).

Table 3. Relevant regional and international forums and initiatives for India and ASEAN

Mode	Forum
Bilateral	Australia–India Critical Minerals Investment Partnership
	Australia–Japan Critical Minerals Partnership and Working Group ASEAN-Japan Energy Efficiency Partnership Australia-ASEAN Centre for Energy Cooperation Arrangement
	India–Japan Clean Energy Partnership
	US - India TRUST Initiative
	US–Japan Agreement on Strengthening Critical Minerals Supply Chains
Plurilateral	Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity
	Quadrilateral Security Dialogue
	Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (Australia, India, and Japan) AUKUS (Australia UK US)
Multilateral	OECD (US, UK, EU, Australia, Japan as member. India, Indonesia as key partner) International Energy Agency (India, Indonesia, Thailand as association country)
	Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement
	World Trade Organization

Source: (Ministry of Mines, 2023[14]); (Australia Department of Industry, Science and Resources, n.d.[76]); (Office of the Principal Sciencetific Adviser to the Government of India, n.d.[77]).

6.1. Bilateral partnerships

Several bilateral partnerships have laid the groundwork for cross-regional collaboration. Among the most active actors is Australia, whose vast geological endowments have positioned it as a key supplier of critical minerals for allied partners. Its collaboration with the United States has deepened under the Climate, Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact, which links resource security to decarbonisation objectives. In parallel, Australia has strengthened partnerships with Japan and Korea, and in 2022 formalised the Australia–India Critical Minerals Investment Partnership to support joint exploration, processing and investment in strategic mineral projects (ORF, 2025[78]).

The United States is also increasing use of mineral diplomacy to reinforce strategic partnerships, with recent minerals-related deals with Thailand and Malaysia being used to secure resilient supply chains and diversify rare-earth and critical-mineral supplies away from China (BBC, 2025[79]); (Rare Earth Exchanges, 2025[80]).

6.2. Plurilateral and multilateral cooperation

Beyond bilateral partnerships, an increasingly dense web of plurilateral and multilateral initiatives has emerged to strengthen the security and sustainability of critical mineral supply chains.

Within the Indo-Pacific, there is growing alignment on minerals among Quad members1 (ORF, 2025[78]). On 1 July 2025, the Quad Foreign Ministers announced the launch of the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative (QCMI), an ambitious expansion of the Quad partnership to strengthen economic security and collective resilience by collaborating to secure and diversify critical minerals supply chains (US State Department, 2025[81]). The initiative leverages each member’s comparative strengths to diversify supply chains and reduce dependency on dominant suppliers, notably China. However, the challenge lies in ensuring that the initiative evolves into a credible instrument for supply-chain resilience. This will require all four partners to commit to concrete investments and timelines that reflect their shared threat perception and translate their strategic convergence into tangible benefits for the wider Indo-Pacific (ORF, 2025[78]).

This framework signals a growing convergence between security, sustainability and economic objectives in the governance of critical minerals. Yet the proliferation of initiatives also risks fragmentation, with overlapping memberships and mandates. Ensuring coherence across them, particularly by linking strategic, commercial and environmental dimensions, will be essential.

Overall, the collective presence of ASEAN in bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral partnerships remains comparatively limited. That said, recent developments suggest this may be beginning to change. The 2025 US-ASEAN minerals-supply-chain agreements, although still at an early stage, reflect growing recognition from major powers of Southeast Asia’s strategic role in critical-minerals value chains.

Note

← 1.  The Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) is a grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the United States.