The Quad summit, comprising the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, is set to take place next month in the Philippines. This marks the first meeting in over two years and is expected to occur ahead of a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on October 20 during an interview with Indian news channel CNN-News18 that the Quad summit will be held in Manila during the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) meeting next month, as reported by the South China Morning Post on October 21.
"The specific date has not yet been determined, but the meeting will take place, and I am very much looking forward to it," Rubio said. He added that Quad foreign ministers will finalize preparations for the summit at a G20-related foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta at the end of this month.
The Philippines, serving as the ASEAN chair this year, will host the summit and various multilateral meetings from November 16 to 18. The Quad summit is expected to coincide with this timeframe.
This meeting will precede the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, scheduled for November 18-19 in Shenzhen, China. Trump and Xi are anticipated to hold their third bilateral meeting of the year during the APEC summit.
The Quad is viewed as a coalition aimed at countering China's expanding influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The last Quad summit took place in September 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware, the hometown of President Joe Biden. India was supposed to host the Quad summit last year, but the meeting was repeatedly postponed due to deteriorating relations between India and the US over tariffs, sanctions on Russian oil, and visa restrictions. Australia currently holds the rotating chairmanship.
The South China Morning Post noted that the announcement of the Quad summit comes amid shifting priorities in US Asia-Pacific policy since the Trump administration took office. Concerns are growing among regional allies regarding the US's long-term security commitments and how to respond to China's increasing influence.
In fact, the US recently reverted the name of its Indo-Pacific Command back to the Pacific Command, undoing a change made in 2018. Additionally, Trump directed a reduction in the duration of the annual US-South Korea joint military exercises from 11 days to 5 days in August. The Trump administration has also pressured regional allies and partner nations to increase their own defense spending.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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