Quad Leaders to Meet in Manila Next Month: Rubio

Washington, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)--The leaders of the Quad, a collaborative framework among Japan, the United States, Australia and India, are expected to meet in Manila next month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Indian media on Tuesday.

The summit will be held on the sidelines of meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Rubio told the media. The ASEAN meetings will be held in the Philippine capital in mid-November.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to attend a summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, in addition to the ASEAN-related meetings. Trump is also expected to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Trump administration appears eager to deepen cooperation among the Quad countries ahead of Trump's expected talks with Xi, potentially strengthening its hand diplomatically.

Rubio said that Quad leaders "will be able to actually announce concrete actions, not just simply a nice social gathering."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]