The News
US President Joe Biden hosted the leaders of Australia, India, and Japan in Delaware this weekend, with the four countries agreeing to expand security and military cooperation, particularly in Asia’s trade-rich waterways.
Known as the Quad summit, the alliance is “here to stay,” Biden emphasized — the Indo-Pacific partnership has grown in importance during his presidency, and analysts believe that he sought “to institutionalize the body” before the end of his presidency and potential leadership changes in Japan and Australia next year, according to Nikkei Asia.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan insisted that “China is not the focus of the Quad,” however, the countries’ leaders wrote in a joint statement that they are “seriously concerned” about China’s escalations in the Pacific region. Biden was also heard on a hot mic saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping is looking to “buy himself some diplomatic space” by continuing to “behave aggressively, testing this all across the region.”