Quad Cooperation: Planned Manila Summit and 2026 Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Framework

The news

Quad leaders from India, Australia, Japan and the United States are expected to meet in Manila in November 2026, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, the U.S. Secretary of State announced on the margins of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta. The meeting, if held, would be the first summit-level engagement of the grouping since Donald Trump began his second term as U.S. President and the first attended by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi since she assumed office.

The last Quad Leaders’ Summit was held in Wilmington in 2024, when Joe Biden was U.S. President and Fumio Kishida was Japan’s Prime Minister. India had been expected to host the subsequent summit, but the grouping underwent a period of intense strategic turbulence in 2025 because of Washington’s shifting geopolitical priorities and changes in its bilateral relations with Quad members, especially India. Despite that, operational cooperation continued, most notably in the elevation of the Quad’s Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness initiative to the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration framework, which was launched in New Delhi in May 2026 following the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

When was the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue first formed?

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly known as the Quad, was first initiated in 2007 through a proposal by then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The grouping of India, Australia, Japan and the United States held its first informal meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila that same year. It was revived in November 2017 after a decade-long hiatus, with officials from the four countries meeting in Manila. The first Quad Leaders' Summit was held virtually in March 2021, elevating the grouping to the summit level. The leaders held their first in-person meeting in Washington D.C. in September 2021.

What is the Quad and what was the previous summit?

The Quad is a grouping of India, Australia, Japan and the United States that cooperates on issues including the Indo-Pacific. Its last leaders’ summit was held in Wilmington in 2024 under then U.S. President Joe Biden and then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. India had been expected to host the next summit, but the grouping faced strategic turbulence in 2025.

What has the Quad achieved despite the turbulence?

Operational cooperation continued even as Washington’s shifting priorities affected the grouping. The Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness initiative was elevated to the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration framework, launched in New Delhi in May 2026. This illustrates continuity in a specific area of cooperation despite wider strategic uncertainty.

What does the planned Manila meeting signify?

The meeting would be the first Quad leaders’ summit during Donald Trump’s second term and the first attended by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta. The meeting was expected, not confirmed as completed; its significance depends on how the United States engages with the broader Indo-Pacific.