Albanese to meet Trump and Quad leaders in Manila after midterms
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is preparing to join US President Donald Trump, India’s Narendra Modi and Japan’s Sanae Takaichi at a Quad summit in Manila, then continue on to China, as Washington’s tariff politics and regional power games keep shaping the agenda.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Manila later this month for a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue meeting with US President Donald Trump, India’s Narendra Modi and Japan’s Sanae Takaichi. The gathering comes after Albanese attended the Cop31 climate summit in Antalya and follows the recent US congressional elections, which saw the Republican Party lose control of both the House and Senate.
A seasoned diplomat noted that the Quad’s frequent foreign-minister meetings have laid bare the leaders’ divergent priorities, yet a summit of the heads of state has still been scheduled despite earlier doubts. Albanese is expected to discuss Indo-Pacific stability, trade in critical minerals and the ongoing fuel price shock with the other leaders before heading to China for talks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum in Shenzhen.
Commentator Bruce Wolpe said Albanese has treated relations with Trump as “transactional, not existential”, choosing not to escalate in response to US tariff policies. Trade minister Don Farrell told the Australian Financial Review that Trump’s loss of congressional control validates Australia’s objection to additional US import taxes, which he said only drive up prices for American consumers.
Both Australian parties are feeling pressure over household costs, petrol prices and rising interest rates ahead of state elections, and the Quad summit is being cast as a mechanism to respond to China’s growing assertiveness in the region.