Washington, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–The leaders of the Quad, a collaborative framework among Japan, the United States, Australia and India, are expected to meet in Manila next month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Indian media on Tuesday. The summit will be held on the sidelines of meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Rubio told the media. The ASEAN meetings will be held in the Philippine capital in mid-November. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to attend a summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, in addition to the ASEAN-related meetings. Trump is also expected to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Trump administration appears eager to deepen cooperation among the Quad countries ahead of Trump’s expected talks with Xi, potentially strengthening its hand diplomatically. Rubio said that Quad leaders “will be able to actually announce concrete actions, not just simply a nice social gathering.” Although he did not mention details, cooperation on critical minerals and maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region is expected to be on the agenda. The Quad summit meeting will be the first under the second Trump administration and the first since September 2024. Although Quad leaders were expected to meet in India last year, the gathering was not realized amid strains in U.S.-India relations caused by the Trump administration’s high-tariff policies. Some believed that this reflected Trump’s negative stance on international cooperation. Meanwhile, Quad foreign ministers have met several times under the Trump administration. Rubio said another such meeting will take place on the sidelines of a foreign ministers’ meeting of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies to be held in Atlanta on Oct. 30-31. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
