President Biden will meet on Saturday with the leaders of Indo-Pacific partners India, Australia and Japan as the United States seeks to strengthen ties in the region and counter the growing threat from China.
At a joint meeting of the four leaders on Saturday night, President Biden announced new efforts to strengthen maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
The United States, India, Australia and Japan make up the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), which focuses primarily on maritime cooperation across the Indo-Pacific region but also addresses a range of issues from security to economics to health investments.
Quad leaders announced an enhanced maritime agreement to monitor illegal fishing and other illegal international activities, with the new pact now bringing the Indian Ocean under its jurisdiction.
The leaders also announced the introduction of new technology and training programs to strengthen maritime agreements and, for the first time, that Quad countries will be able to join U.S. Coast Guard vessels.
Biden said at the start of the joint session that the Quad “is here to stay.”
“We are democracies that know how to get things done,” Biden said. “Our four countries are strategically aligned like never before.”
Modi said the Quad has “strengthened cooperation in an unprecedented manner in all fields”.
“The Quad will remain there to support, partner and complement,” he said.
Ahead of the summit, Biden met separately with world leaders in Wilmington, Delaware, starting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday evening, before meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
Biden discussed global affairs with the three leaders, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and China's threats to the self-ruled government of Taiwan.
Japan is expected to increase investments in deploying advanced technologies under the Australia-Britain-United States (AUKUS) trilateral alliance, according to a White House summary of the meeting with Kishida. Japan's partnership with AUKUS was first announced in April.
“The security environment surrounding our country is becoming increasingly severe,” Kishida said at the meeting, emphasizing the need to commit to partnerships like the Quad to uphold international law and promote shared values such as a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The White House also announced an enhanced U.S. and Australian commitment to AUKUS, focusing on climate and clean energy investments and projects.
Albanese said the Quad had “evolved” to meet growing challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We will always be better off if like-minded countries and our four largest democracies work together,” he said.
The United States is seeking to strengthen relationships in the Indo-Pacific region amid intensifying competition with China and the possibility of a larger conflict with Taiwan or the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea.
What began as a loose partnership in 2004 was formally formed in its current form in 2017 and has emerged as one of the region's key partnerships, along with AUKUS. This week, Congress Announced The Quad Caucus in the House and Senate will boost support for a collaborative alliance.
A senior Biden administration official told reporters on Friday that with the Indian Ocean addition, the US is “fairly confident that the Quad will survive.”
“The Quad continues to have a strong interest in the maritime security of the region and is extremely proud of this project, which has already benefited 24 countries across the Indo-Pacific region,” the official added.
Maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific is security-based, with coast guards working to enforce the law, but there is also a focus on humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
The official said the Quad was “focused on strengthening peace, stability and the continuity of international law in the region.”
“We continue to define the Quad as a partnership, not any kind of military alliance,” the official said. “We remain committed to providing public goods to the region, and we are very interested in continuing to strengthen our maritime security efforts to achieve that goal.”
