Quad Leaders set to unveil economic security initiatives, strategic infrastructure at Manila Summit

The meeting comes amid tensions between China and the Philippines, and is expected to cover economic security, critical technologies and maritime awareness.

Quad member states are expected to unveil several deliverables, mainly focused on economic security and strategic infrastructure, at the leaders’ summit expected to be held on the margins of the Asean Summit in Manila next week, people familiar with the matter said.

PM Modi speaking at the Quad summit in Hiroshima, in 2023 (AP)

The upcoming Quad Leaders’ Summit — the first gathering of the leaders of India, Australia, Japan and the US since September 2024 — is set to be hosted by the US, the people said on condition of anonymity. India was set to chair the leaders’ summit in 2025, but its efforts to arrange the meeting last year were stymied by lack of clarity on US President Donald Trump’s travel plans.

The deliverables expected to be unveiled at the upcoming summit were finalised at the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting on the margins of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta on October 31, the people said. The foreign ministers’ meet resulted in several outcomes, including the provision of technical and financial aid worth more than $85 million to back access to trusted artificial intelligence across the Indo-Pacific.

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Economic security will remain an area of focus for the Quad, even as the grouping continues its work on critical technologies, maritime domain awareness and strategic infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific, the people said.

The people also pointed to the significance of the US hosting the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Manila amidst continuing tensions between China and the Philippines. Beijing and Manila have had a series of testy exchanges since last month, when the Chinese envoy reacted strongly to Philippine defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr’s description of China as a regional “troublemaker”.

The envoy responded by saying that the Philippines should be grateful to have a neighbour like China, adding that “if we want to use force, we may easily win”. This was followed by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos saying the remarks sounded “very much like a threat”.

However, there is still lack of clarity on the timing of the Quad Leaders’ Summit, which is expected to be held in the later part of November 17, following the East Asia Summit, the people said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to arrive in Manila in the afternoon of November 16 and leave early on November 18, the people said.

The upcoming summit will also mark a departure from such meetings being held only in Quad member states.