Quad exploring leaders’ meet on margins of Asean

Quad member states are exploring the possibility of arranging a leaders’ summit, already delayed by more than a year, on the margins of the Asean Summit to be held in the Philippines next month, people familiar with the discussions said.

The proposed plan will, however, be contingent on US President Donald Trump’s presence at the Asean Summit and related meetings to be held in Manila during November 16-18, the people said on condition of anonymity.

Though the office of the Philippines President said on Wednesday that Trump is expected to attend the Asean meet, the people noted that the US leader’s travel plans could be linked to the outcome of the mid-term elections scheduled for the first Tuesday in November.

India was originally scheduled to host the Quad Leaders’ Summit in 2025, but the meet could not be held because of shifting diplomatic priorities and scheduling problems, especially after the political transition in the US following the election of Trump. The last Quad Leaders’ Summit was hosted by former US president Joe Biden in Wilmington in September 2024. India tried several times to arrange the meeting last year but the lack of clarity on Trump’s travel plans stymied these moves, the people said.

The Quad member states have now pivoted to the possibility of arranging the leaders’ summit on the margins of the Asean gathering in order to signal continued commitment of the top leadership to the grouping that comprises India, Australia, Japan and the US, the people said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to the Philippines during November 16-17 for related meetings such as the India-Asean Summit, the people said. The four Quad member states are also working to ensure that any leaders’ summit will not be just a symbolic gesture and will lead to some outcomes, the people said.

The Quad foreign ministers are also expected to meet on the margins of a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting at Atlanta in the US during October 30-31, the people said. This will be the fourth such meeting since the beginning of Trump’s second term, and the most recent foreign ministers’ meet was hosted by New Delhi in May.

The people said the Quad’s agenda in recent months has focused on issues such as economic security, energy, connectivity and strategic infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific, while issues such as a “cancer moonshot” and healthcare, which had gained in salience under the Biden administration, have fallen by the wayside.