Philippines Hosts ASEAN and Quad Diplomatic Summits in Manila

The Philippines is hosting a sequence of high-level diplomatic gatherings in Manila from July 18 to 24, 2026, under the theme “Navigating Our Future, Together.” As the 2026 ASEAN chair, the Philippines is convening the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the ASEAN Plus Three and East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meetings, and the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum.

Key participants include U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. The agenda focuses on geopolitical uncertainty, the situation in Myanmar, and disputes in the South China Sea. The meetings aim to promote a rules-based international order and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Parallel to the ASEAN events, Marco Rubio is engaging with the Quad grouping—India, Australia, Japan, and the United States—for their second ministerial meeting of the year. These discussions follow a May session where ministers raised concerns over the militarization of disputed features and coercive actions in the South China Sea and East China Sea. The proceedings will conclude on July 24 with a gala dinner hosted by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.