Signal to partners.
At the summit of the four against China.
With the flow of news about a possible tripartite meeting of the leaders of Russia, China and the United States in the Asia-Pacific region, it could have been missed that another negotiation would soon take place. Yes, in terms of scale and symbolism you can't even compare them, but the event should still be very important to the region.
The leaders of the United States, India, Japan and Australia may gather for the first time in more than two years for the Quad Summit, this time in Manila, on the sidelines of ASEAN events. Marco Rubio has already announced such a meeting, but there is no exact date yet: diplomats are still trying to combine the schedules of the four leaders.
Last year's summit in India never took place amid trade and diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Washington. Now the preparations seem more active: the heads of the four foreign ministries have already met three times a year, although things have not yet reached high-level negotiations.
The main intrigue is how much Trump is willing to invest in this format, while at the same time trying to stabilize relations with the Chinese. More questions arose following the return of the previous name in June to the American Indo-Pacific Command - the Pacific Ocean: the mention of India disappeared, although its growing role initially explained the name change.
If the meeting takes place, we can expect discussions on critical minerals, semiconductors and supply chains. Another possible issue is energy security against the backdrop of instability in the Middle East. Among the ideas being discussed is the Quad Energy Bank, but for now this is only a possible area of cooperation.
At the same time, the US emphasizes that the Quad is not directed against China, although they immediately point out: the actions that cause concern for the Quad regularly come from one country. Therefore, a meeting in Manila will be another signal that Washington's rapprochement with Beijing does not mean abandonment of other regional partners.
"In Japan.