Rubio Says Quad Leaders Plan Manila Summit as ASEAN Prepares for November Meetings

Manila Meeting Would End a Two Year Gap

The United States, India, Japan and Australia have agreed to hold their next Quad leaders' summit in Manila alongside ASEAN meetings in November 2026, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on October 20. The gathering would be their first leaders' summit since September 21, 2024, after plans for India to host in 2025 fell through.

Philippine preparations provide a firm calendar for the wider diplomatic gathering. Proclamation No. 1447 declares November 16 to 18, 2026 special nonworking days across the National Capital Region for the 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits. Initial descriptions of the Quad plan identify November 16 to 17, also the period when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected in Manila, while the Philippine government's schedule covers three days.

Rubio expressed confidence that the Quad meeting would happen. The US secretary of state said:

We are going to do it in Manila, at the ASEAN conference. We don't have the specific date yet, but that's going to happen, and we're very enthusiastic about it.

Modi, US President Donald Trump and the leaders of Australia and Japan are expected to participate. Arrangements still depend on Trump's attendance, however, and the precise date, format, participant list and agenda await final confirmation. The Philippine president's office has said Trump is expected at the ASEAN gathering; discussions about his travel have also taken account of the US midterm elections in November.

The proposal places the Quad's return to the leaders' table within a larger regional event. Holding talks while leaders are already visiting the same city could help resolve the scheduling problems that prevented the planned Indian summit.

What the Philippine Government Has Set

Malacañang, the Philippine presidential office, announced the holiday arrangements in its summit holiday announcement. Acting Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto signed Proclamation No. 1447 on September 17 under the authority of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

The proclamation places the 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Metro Manila. The suspension of work from Monday, November 16, through Wednesday, November 18, is intended to ease traffic congestion and help authorities protect visiting participants.

For residents and businesses in the capital region, the preparations therefore have an immediate effect beyond diplomacy: three designated nonworking days during a major international gathering. For visiting governments, the arrangements establish the broader window in which bilateral meetings and smaller group discussions can be organized.

The Philippine calendar also lists the 16th ASEAN Maritime Forum on November 17 and the 14th Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum on November 18. Those events give maritime cooperation a place in the week's schedule, alongside the meetings of national leaders.

How the Summit Reached This Point

India was originally due to host the Quad leaders in 2025. Efforts to arrange the meeting ran into shifting diplomatic priorities and uncertainty over Trump's travel following his return to the White House. The annual gathering never took place.

The Manila proposal would end a gap of more than two years since former US President Joe Biden hosted the previous summit in Wilmington, Delaware. Foreign ministers have continued to meet during that interval.

• September 21, 2024: Biden hosted the last Quad leaders' summit in Wilmington.
• 2025: India's planned leaders' summit did not take place.
• May 2026: Quad foreign ministers met in New Delhi.
• October 20, 2026: Rubio said the countries had agreed to meet in Manila.
• October 30 to 31, 2026: Quad foreign ministers are expected to meet alongside the G20 foreign ministers' gathering in Atlanta.
• November 16 to 18, 2026: Manila hosts the ASEAN summit period around which the Quad meeting is being arranged.

The sequence shows two different levels of diplomacy. Ministers have kept cooperation moving, while presidents and prime ministers have lacked their regular shared platform for approving priorities and announcing major initiatives.

Ministers Have Kept the Quad Active

Rubio said his early work as secretary of state included meeting the other Quad foreign ministers soon after Trump took office. He recalled seven or eight subsequent engagements and pointed to Atlanta as the next opportunity for discussions.

The expected Atlanta gathering would be the fourth Quad foreign ministers' meeting since the beginning of Trump's second term. Rubio's larger count covers engagements more broadly, including contacts beyond those formal ministerial meetings.

Atlanta could give the four governments an opportunity to prepare decisions for their leaders before Manila. That matters because Rubio has said the summit should produce concrete measures rather than end with another statement of broad goals.

Rubio described the grouping's recent activity in positive terms:

The Quad is one that's really gaining a lot of momentum,

The practical test will be whether the ministers can turn that activity into initiatives ready for leaders to announce. A summit restores direct political attention; decisions on projects, responsibilities and delivery would give participating governments something more durable to work on.

Economic Security Moves Up the Agenda

Recent Quad discussions have concentrated on economic security, energy, connectivity and strategic infrastructure. Healthcare and the cancer moonshot initiative, which received greater attention under Biden, have moved down the list of priorities.

Economic security means protecting the supplies and services a country needs to keep functioning. Within the Quad's areas of cooperation, that includes supply chains, or the networks through which raw materials, parts and finished products move between countries.

Connectivity and infrastructure concern the links that allow economies to work together, including transport, communications and energy systems. Critical technologies, maritime security and disaster preparedness are also among the areas being considered for discussion.

For people across the Indo-Pacific, these subjects connect diplomacy to ordinary needs: reliable fuel supplies, goods reaching their destination and the ability to respond when a disaster disrupts transport or communications. Rubio's call for concrete outcomes puts attention on what the four governments can deliver in these areas.

Energy Talks Connect India and the United States

Rubio's comments about the Quad came during an interview that also addressed India's energy industry and trade with the United States. He discussed a planned visit to Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery, the company's refining capacity and its investments in the US.

He also discussed India diversifying its energy supplies, including through Venezuelan crude. Diversification means buying from a wider range of suppliers so that disruption or political friction affecting one source creates fewer difficulties.

Energy has also been a source of tension between Washington and New Delhi. Trump imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods over India's purchases of Russian oil, putting pressure on a relationship that the Quad depends on for cooperation across the Indo-Pacific.

The refinery discussions and the summit preparations therefore sit within the same wider diplomatic effort: finding areas where the two countries can work together while managing disagreements over trade and energy purchases. Rubio's comments tied commercial activity and energy supply to the broader relationship between the governments.

Pakistan Ties Add Pressure to India's Calculations

India approaches the proposed summit while Washington is also pursuing closer engagement with Pakistan. Relations between New Delhi and Washington were strained after the India-Pakistan military confrontation in May 2025, when Trump repeatedly claimed a role in securing a ceasefire.

India rejected the claim of outside mediation and said the ceasefire followed direct communication between the two militaries. Trump's June 2025 White House meeting with Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, brought further attention to Washington's relationship with Islamabad.

Asked about Pakistan, Rubio said the US opposed terrorism and those who sponsor it. He also explained that his role as secretary of state required maintaining relationships with countries despite disagreements. Describing Pakistan's place in US foreign policy, he said:

In the case of Pakistan, it's a country with which we have to have a relationship,

Rubio cited Pakistan's nuclear weapons and geographic position. He compared the need for contact with India's relationship with Iran and argued that communication could give Washington an opportunity to discourage activities that concern India.

For New Delhi, the result is a relationship with Washington operating on several tracks at once. India and the US cooperate through the Quad while disagreeing over trade and aspects of regional diplomacy. US-Pakistan discussions have also extended to energy and critical minerals.

Why Manila Matters Beyond the Venue

The Philippines holds the ASEAN chairmanship in 2026, bringing regional leaders and visiting partners to Manila. ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a separate organization from the Quad. The proposed arrangement would use the wider gathering to bring the four Quad leaders together.

Manila also sits close to the maritime security concerns that shape the grouping's work. China's growing influence across the Indo-Pacific is an important strategic consideration for India, the US, Japan and Australia, alongside their cooperation on technology, infrastructure and disaster response.

Japan and the Philippines have already been moving toward closer practical defense cooperation. In September 2025, their preparations for a military access agreement included a framework for visiting forces, larger exercises and discussions about equipment. That relationship illustrates how a Quad member's regional partnerships extend into the country hosting the proposed summit.

The next scheduled opportunity to prepare the leaders' discussions is the October 30 to 31 ministerial gathering in Atlanta. Manila then offers the four governments a chance to restore their leaders' meeting and announce the practical measures Rubio has called for.

Key Points

• Rubio said the four Quad countries had agreed to hold a leaders' summit in Manila before the end of 2026.
• The Philippine government has designated November 16 to 18 as special nonworking days in the capital region for the ASEAN summit period.
• The Quad meeting's exact arrangements await confirmation, with Trump's attendance central to scheduling.
• The previous leaders' summit took place in Wilmington on September 21, 2024; India's planned 2025 gathering did not happen.
• Quad foreign ministers are expected to meet in Atlanta on October 30 to 31.
• Economic security, energy, infrastructure and practical initiatives are prominent in preparations.