India, May 27 -- India and the other members of the Quad grouping will walk away from the foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi reassured about the commitment of the US to the Indo-Pacific project, especially at a time when President Donald Trump has conveyed mixed signals on his plans to rebalance ties with China. After all, China's assertive actions across the Indo-Pacific were the driving force that brought together Australia, India, Japan, and the US to revive Quad in late 2017, and the grouping has since then focused on countering Beijing's growing influence across the region in sectors ranging from critical infrastructure and technologies to economic security. It is in this context that the foreign ministers of Australia and Japan highlighted the work of Quad in offering choices to countries across the Indo-Pacific region in making decisions regarding their security and development, free of any form of coercion. The Quad Initiative on Indo-Pacific Energy Security, proposed by the US and aimed at helping countries in the region to enhance their energy resilience through the creation of reserves and assistance in procuring energy, is perhaps the most significant new deliverable to emerge from the foreign ministers' meeting. It is timely in view of the disruptions in energy supplies caused by the West Asia conflict. The other initiatives - such as greater collaboration to expand ongoing work in maritime domain awareness and surveillance to the Indian Ocean, the creation of a framework to take forward collaboration on critical minerals, and a pilot project to advance port infrastructure in Fiji - only build on the work that Quad has taken up in recent years. Though Japan and Australia publicly lauded the US's commitment to the Quad framework, the truth is the grouping has struggled to agree on the holding of a leaders' summit in India for well over a year. The Quad member States will do well to deliver on the initiatives that emerged from the foreign ministers' meeting, as they will reinforce the grouping's image as an entity able to offer viable alternative choices to nations across the Indo-Pacific. There have been arguments that Quad member States may be content for now to engage at the level of foreign ministers, but an end to the uncertainty over the next summit will be a clear signal of the intent that Quad is here to stay as a key force within the Indo-Pacific....