Trump, Quad Leaders To Meet In Manila For First Summit Since 2024: Reports

The US, Japan, Australia and India are expected to hold their first Quad summit in two years on Tuesday, with the four leaders likely to meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Manila, two people familiar with the planning said.

The leaders are likely to discuss the safety of international shipping routes and the need to keep them open to protect global energy supplies. Reuters quoted one of the sources as saying, "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 source also said, "The issue of attacks on commercial ships is very likely to be taken up."

Critical minerals are expected to be another key issue at the Quad summit, according to one of the people familiar with the preparations.

A second source, a Philippine government official briefed on the arrangements, said the meeting was expected to take place shortly after US President Donald Trump arrives in Manila on Tuesday, the final day of the ASEAN summit.

The four leaders last met in September 2024 in Delaware, where they reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and announced initiatives to strengthen maritime security cooperation. This will be their first meeting since Trump returned to office last year.

What Is QUAD?

The Quad, formally known as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, brings together the US, India, Japan and Australia. Its origins date back to 2004, when the four countries joined forces to coordinate humanitarian assistance and disaster relief following the Indian Ocean tsunami.

The grouping held its first official-level meeting in 2007 but lost momentum soon after, before being revived in 2017.

Since then, the Quad has expanded its cooperation to areas such as maritime security, critical technologies, infrastructure, health and supply chains. The grouping is widely seen as a counterweight to China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. However, its members have maintained that it is not directed against any one country.

Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that the Quad leaders could meet alongside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, which begins on Sunday in Manila.