Quad foreign ministers voice 'grave concerns' over economic coercion as plans form for Trump's first Quad leaders' summit in Manila

Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the foreign ministers of Australia, India and Japan in Atlanta on Saturday 31 October, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, Reuters reported. Australia’s Penny Wong, India’s S. Jaishankar and Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi attended. It was the four countries’ third Quad ministers’ meeting this year.

In a joint statement, the ministers pledged to build reliable global supply chains. “They expressed grave concerns regarding economic coercion, including through arbitrary export restrictions, as well as non-market policies and practices that result in overcapacity to disrupt global supply chains in critical industries,” the statement said, according to Reuters.

The statement did not name China. Reuters noted that it came as Japan has strongly criticised Beijing’s restrictions on critical mineral exports.

The ministers also stressed the “absolute necessity to protect and preserve navigational rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait,” and repeated their support for a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Plans are taking shape for a Quad leaders’ summit in Manila during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings on 15-18 November, Reuters reported. It would be the first Quad leaders’ summit since 2024 and the first for President Donald Trump, who cancelled plans to attend one in India in late 2025 amid trade disputes with New Delhi.