Politics · World News Bureau
The Quad's Manila comeback: coercion named, China not
Quad foreign ministers in Atlanta voiced grave concerns about economic coercion and export curbs without naming China, as the group prepares its first leaders' summit since 2024, in Manila, days before Trump meets Xi in Shenzhen.
LSN World News ·
<p><em>Special Reporting from LSN News, adapted from today's Power Play Asia episode. <a href="https://youtu.be/_J-kaCfnLbc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Watch the video on YouTube.</a></em></p>
<p>The foreign ministers of the Quad met in Atlanta on Saturday and voiced "grave concerns" about economic coercion and export curbs. Their statement did not name China. It did not need to: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the behaviour at issue comes "repetitively from one country." And this month the Quad's leaders are expected to meet in Manila, days before US President Donald Trump sits down with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen.</p>
<h2>A statement about supply chains, not seas</h2>
<p>Rubio hosted India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting. It was their third Quad meeting this year, after New Delhi in May and Manila in July.</p>
<p>Their joint statement expressed "grave concerns regarding economic coercion, including through arbitrary export restrictions," as well as non-market policies that result in overcapacity in critical industries. The ministers said they intend to provide more than 85 million dollars to support access to trusted artificial intelligence across the Indo-Pacific. Washington committed 10 million dollars for facilities in India and ASEAN countries that recover critical minerals from waste, to reduce reliance on any single supplier.</p>
<p>On the sea, the statement named three waterways, the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb, and called it an "absolute necessity" to keep navigation through them open. It did not mention the South China Sea.</p>
<h2>One country, unnamed</h2>
<p>Rubio insisted the Quad "is not an anti-China or anti-anybody coalition." He added that the behaviours of concern are "coming repetitively from one country," and that this is "going to be obvious to everybody."</p>
<p>The context is rare earths. China refines about 90 percent of the world's supply, and the Hindustan Times, citing Reuters, notes that Japan has been sharply critical of Beijing's curbs on critical mineral exports. India has felt the pressure too: Chinese limits on rare earth magnets disrupted Indian carmakers last year. Jaishankar said he spoke about countering non-market practices and economic stresses in the Indo-Pacific, and stressed what he called "freedom of choice."</p>
<p>Beijing pushed back quickly. The Chinese embassy in Washington said China opposes "forming exclusive groupings or engaging in bloc confrontation." An editorial in the state-run China Daily said the statement "reeks of sheer hypocrisy," and called the Quad a Cold War-style bloc.</p>
<h2>Manila first, then Shenzhen</h2>
<p>Rubio said a Quad leaders' meeting in Manila would be announced "very soon, if we haven't already." It would be the first Quad leaders' summit since September 2024. India was meant to host one last year, but it slipped as ties with Washington soured over tariffs, oil sanctions and visas, according to the South China Morning Post.</p>
<p>The summit is expected on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings in Manila in mid-November. The leaders then head north to the APEC summit in Shenzhen on 18 and 19 November, where Trump is expected to hold his third meeting of the year with Xi. A former US ambassador, Edgard Kagan, told the Post that the timing is less about signalling to China and more about Washington strengthening its hand.</p>
<p>That hand has questions attached. In June, Washington renamed its Indo-Pacific Command back to Pacific Command. The Post also reports that the Japan-based carrier USS George Washington was reassigned to the war against Iran. In LSN's reading, the allies want proof that America will still show up in Asia, and Manila is that proof.</p>
<p>LSN's scorecard: on the agenda, the edge goes to the Quad, with minerals, chips, ports and scams now at the centre and money attached. On naming names, the edge goes to Beijing: there is no China in the text, and no South China Sea. On timing, the edge goes to Washington, as Trump meets his partners in Manila before he meets Xi in Shenzhen. On Southeast Asia, the edge goes to Manila: a Quad summit on ASEAN soil puts the Philippines at the centre of the region's power map.</p>
<p>The verdict: the Quad is back, but it is changing shape, from a maritime club into an economic security club built around supply chains rather than warships. That suits India, which wants a Quad that is useful without being a military alliance, and it suits Washington, which wants leverage before Shenzhen. Beijing will call it containment either way. The real test is Manila. If the leaders turn concern into contracts on minerals and chips, the Quad becomes Asia's answer to export coercion. If the summit ends with another careful statement, Xi will notice which words were missing.</p>
<h2>Sources</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://mediarelease.co/us/mr02517-state-department-quad-joint-press-release-economic-prosperity-security-31102026.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US Department of State, 31 Oct 2026, "Quad Joint Press Release on Economic Prosperity and Security" (full text via MediaRelease.co)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/media-release/quad-joint-press-release-economic-prosperity-and-security" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, 31 Oct 2026, "Quad Joint Press Release on Economic Prosperity and Security"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/90033" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kyodo News, 1 Nov 2026, "Japan, U.S., Australia, India take aim at China's economic policies"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/11/01/asia-pacific/politics/quad-foreign-ministers-economic-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Japan Times, 1 Nov 2026, "'Quad' diplomats express 'grave concerns' about economic coercion in veiled jab at China"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/strait-of-hormuz-export-curbs-quad-india-australia-japan-asean-s-jaishankar-marco-rubio-asean-manila-red-sea-us-iran-war-101793492318898.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hindustan Times (HT Correspondent), 1 Nov 2026, "Quad calls out export curbs, Strait of Hormuz closure"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/quad-leaders-summit-to-take-place-in-manila-next-month-says-us-secy-of-state-marco-rubio-101793467969780.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hindustan Times (HT US Desk), 1 Nov 2026, "Quad Leaders' Summit to take place in Manila next month, says US Secy of State Marco Rubio"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/quad-building-reliable-open-supply-chains-and-securing-critical-minerals-says-marco-rubio-10945344/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Indian Express (Shubhajit Roy), 1 Nov 2026, "Quad building reliable, open supply chains and securing critical minerals, says Marco Rubio"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/quad-ministers-express-grave-concerns-over-economic-coercion/article71650501.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hindu, 31 Oct/1 Nov 2026, "Quad ministers express 'grave concerns' over economic coercion"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.business-standard.com/external-affairs-defence-security/news/jaishankar-calls-for-deeper-quad-cooperation-on-energy-maritime-security-126103101400_1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Standard (Press Trust of India), 31 Oct 2026, "Jaishankar calls for deeper Quad cooperation on energy, maritime security"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20261102/quad-not-anti-china-says-rubio-as-first-summit-in-two-years-set-before-trump-xi-talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Korea Times (South China Morning Post), 2 Nov 2026, "Quad not 'anti-China', says Rubio as first summit in two years set before Trump-Xi talks"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/11/02/business/foreign-business/indo-pacific-denounces-economic-coercion/2459028" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Manila Times, 2 Nov 2026, "Indo-Pacific denounces 'economic coercion'"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://globalnation.inquirer.net/345081/rubio-manila-to-host-quad-leaders-summit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philippine Daily Inquirer, Nov 2026, "Rubio: Manila to host Quad leaders' summit"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/1007877/rubio-says-quad-leaders-meeting-in-manila-to-be-announced-soon/story/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GMA News (Reuters), 1 Nov 2026, "Rubio says Quad leaders meeting in Manila to be announced soon"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.chinadailyasia.com/hk/article/642097" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China Daily (editorial), 1-2 Nov 2026, "Quad statement reeks of sheer hypocrisy"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.pacom.mil/Media/Press-Releases-and-Readouts/Article/4519249/department-of-war-restores-us-pacific-command-designation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US Pacific Command, 16 Jun 2026, "Department of War Restores U.S. Pacific Command Designation"</a></li>
</ul>