MANILA — The leaders of the United States, Japan, Australia and India are expected to meet in Manila on Tuesday, November 17, in what would be the first summit of the Quad nations in two years, two people familiar with the planning told Reuters on Saturday.

Source: Reuters

The meeting is planned for the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in the Philippine capital, which runs from Sunday, November 15 to Tuesday, November 17, and the four leaders are expected to gather shortly after US President Donald Trump arrives in Manila on Tuesday, the last day of the ASEAN meetings, a second person, from the Philippine government and briefed on the preparations, told Reuters.

US President Donald Trump, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are the four leaders expected at the table. It would be the first Quad leaders' meeting since Trump returned to office, and the first time the four leaders have met as a group since their September 2024 summit in Delaware, where they reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and announced steps to strengthen maritime security cooperation.

Critical minerals and shipping lanes on the agenda

The supply of critical minerals is expected to be on the agenda, one of the people familiar with the planning said. “The leaders are likely to take up the issue of free and unimpeded commercial shipping lanes in order to secure energy supplies from across the world,” the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. “The issue of attacks on commercial ships is very likely to be taken up.”

Sources in New Delhi confirmed the planned meeting to The Hindu, saying it is expected on Tuesday evening, probably after Trump lands in Manila. The Hindu reported it would be the first Quad summit held in a non-Quad country, and that critical minerals, energy supply chains and the safety of seafarers are expected to be addressed.

Source: The Hindu via Vidia News

What has been confirmed, and what has not

In Washington, US officials briefing the media on Trump's travels confirmed the president will travel to Manila and will take part in a “multilateral meeting” with Quad country leaders, Reuters reported, and the White House has said Trump is due to arrive in Manila on the evening of November 17. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had indicated last month that the Quad leaders could meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

India has not officially confirmed the Quad meeting itself. India's Ministry of External Affairs announced on Thursday, November 12 that Modi will visit Manila to attend the ASEAN meetings and the East Asia Summit, but did not confirm a separate Quad leaders' meeting; asked about it at a briefing on Friday, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said only that the ministry would “keep [journalists] updated with developments in Manila pertaining to the Quad”. A senior US official has said no agreement is expected from the meeting.

The Quad — the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue of the US, India, Japan and Australia — is widely considered a counterweight to China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific, although its members say the grouping is not directed against any one country. Holding the leaders' meeting in Manila, in the middle of the ASEAN summit and on the edge of the South China Sea, underlines how central Southeast Asia and its sea lanes have become to the four countries' planning.

What happens next

Trump is scheduled to leave Washington early on Monday, November 16 and reach Manila on Tuesday evening, where the Quad meeting is listed ahead of a planned trade agreement signing with Thailand, a US-ASEAN special summit and a dinner with regional leaders. After Manila, the focus shifts to Shenzhen, China, where the APEC leaders' meeting on November 18-19 is expected to bring Trump together with China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin.