What happens if you put the three biggest superpowers and Asia's largest democracy in one room? It could lead to the most powerful bloc in history, redrawing the geopolitical map. President Donald Trump is reportedly toying with the audacious idea - a 'Core 5' or C5 superclub including the US, Russia, China, India, and Japan, Politico reported, citing Defence One. If whispers in Washington are to be believed, Trump is looking to position the 'Core 5' as a potential alternative to the G7 (Group of Seven).
While the idea seems to be far-fetched as of now, Defence One said the proposal was included in the unpublished version of the US's National Security Strategy. However, the White House has declined to confirm the existence of such a proposal.
Earlier this year, Trump has, however, dropped certain hints of such a bold new geopolitical experiment. At the G7 Summit in June, Trump boldly suggested that Russia and even China should be part of the bloc. He even went on to assert that it was a "very big mistake" to remove Russia in 2014 after it annexed Crimea. The move is believed to have precipitated Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"You wouldn't have a war right now if you had Russia in," Trump said, underlining that not having Putin as part of the bloc "makes life more complicated".
It seems to have spurred Trump to explore the idea of a five-nation superclub and bring the US, Russia, China, India and Japan under one strategic umbrella.
"The strategy proposes a Core 5, or C5, made up of the US, China, Russia, India and Japan -- which are several of the countries with more than 100 million people," the report said. The proposal said the bloc would meet regularly, as the G7 does, for summits with specific pressing themes.
Even the first agenda of the Core-5 group has been reportedly decided - Middle East security, focusing on normalising relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
An attempt to get Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, which normalised diplomatic relations between Israel and some Arab states, has been one of Trump's key goals in his second term. Presently, Saudi Arabia is not part of the Abraham Accords, which was signed in 2020 during Trump's first term.
The 'Core-5' proposal, if true, marks a notable shift in the US's priorities under Trump. So far, the US has relied on its European allies. The new framework pushes towards greater engagement with emerging powers.
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