Quad drifts, Trump pivots to China, war saps munitions
SkimNews Take
The Quad's diminished cohesion reflects a broader recalibration of U.S. strategic priorities, shifting resources and attention away from the Indo-Pacific.
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- Quad has become increasingly unable to define its purpose as President Donald Trump pivots toward China and the Middle East, prompting analysts to label the alliance as drifting toward irrelevance.
- United States shifted its naval and air assets from the Asia‑Pacific to the Middle East at the start of its war on Iran in February 2025, and the Epic Fury operation consumed more than half of its pre‑war stockpile of four critical munitions.
- Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have begun a diplomatic rapprochement, highlighted by new trade deals and Trump’s historic visit to China—the first by a U.S. president in nearly a decade.
- India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited Trump to a Quad summit in June 2025, but the visit has not materialised and no new summit date has been set, underscoring the alliance’s stalled momentum.
- Quad foreign ministers from India, Japan and Australia met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New Delhi, but the atmosphere was stiff and the meeting produced no clear outcomes, reflecting the group’s uncertainty.
Why it matters: Quad members and other Asian allies lose a reliable US security umbrella as Washington uses over half its critical munitions in the Iran war, while China gains diplomatic space to expand its regional influence.
