Leaders of the United States, Japan, Australia and India are expected to meet in Manila on Tuesday for the first summit of the four-nation Quad grouping in two years, with critical minerals, maritime security and the protection of international shipping routes likely to feature prominently on the agenda.
Two people familiar with the preparations said the meeting would take place on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, which begins on Sunday in the Philippine capital. The gathering is expected shortly after US President Donald Trump arrives in Manila on Tuesday, the final day of the regional summit.
The meeting would mark the first gathering of Quad leaders since Trump returned to the White House last year and the first summit of the grouping since September 2024, when its leaders met in Delaware.
The Quad, comprising the United States, Japan, Australia and India, is widely regarded as a strategic counterweight to China’s expanding influence in the Indo-Pacific. However, its members have maintained that the partnership is not directed against any particular country.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated last month that the four leaders could meet during the ASEAN summit in Manila. The proposed gathering would bring together the leaders of the four countries at a time when maritime security and access to strategic resources remain central to regional cooperation.
The supply of critical minerals is expected to be among the subjects discussed, one of the people familiar with the planning said. These resources are a key area of interest for the four countries as they seek to strengthen cooperation on strategic supply chains.
The leaders are also expected to address the security of commercial shipping routes and the uninterrupted movement of goods and energy supplies through international waters. One source familiar with the preparations said the discussions were likely to include attacks on commercial vessels and the need to maintain free and unimpeded shipping lanes.
“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 said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the preparations publicly.
“The issue of attacks on commercial ships is very likely to be taken up,” the person added.
The proposed agenda reflects the Quad’s established focus on maritime security and maintaining an open Indo-Pacific. At their previous leaders’ summit in Delaware in September 2024, the four countries reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and announced initiatives to strengthen cooperation on maritime security.
The Manila meeting is expected to provide the grouping’s leaders with an opportunity to revisit those commitments and discuss areas requiring closer coordination, including critical mineral supplies and the security of international maritime commerce.
