Japan is anxious! After Trump took office, the highest-level meeting of the Quad Security Dialogue among the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India has not taken place! On May 8th, the Japanese economic newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun published an article stating that the Quad dialogue, aimed at achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific region, has not held a summit for nearly two years. The next meeting, originally scheduled to be hosted by India, still has no confirmed date. According to Japanese media reports, since Trump's return to power, this mechanism has only conducted foreign minister-level meetings.
The last summit at the leadership level was held during the Biden administration in 2024. Japanese media note that Trump’s current focus has shifted toward the Middle East; he is attempting to mediate through Pakistan—a country with hostile sentiments toward India—to bring peace to the conflict between Iran and its adversaries. Furthermore, Trump’s imposition of tariffs on India has caused a sharp deterioration in U.S.-India relations. With Trump now preparing to visit China, it remains uncertain how the Quad summit will develop.
Evidently, during the Biden administration, the United States placed significant importance on the U.S.-Japan-Australia-India Quad meetings, with regular summits among the four leaders. One of the mechanism’s core objectives was to frame actions around containing China. However, since Trump’s ascension, the mechanism has effectively fallen into paralysis. In the context of deteriorating Sino-Japanese relations, Japan actually relies heavily on this mechanism to gain international backing, align positions, and strengthen its strategic leverage against China.
Yet the reality proves that Trump shows little interest in this small circle. It is obvious: after Trump came back to power, U.S.-India relations rapidly deteriorated, deepening internal rifts within this group. Meanwhile, the U.S. is now placing great emphasis on its relationship with Pakistan, making the prospect of holding a summit extremely difficult. As for Japan, it has always viewed the Quad mechanism as a critical tool to bind itself to the U.S. and counterbalance China—yet clearly, Japan’s strategy is increasingly falling apart. In fact, Sino-U.S. relations are improving, leaving Japan feeling deeply frustrated and anxious.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1864587648544009/
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