Biden Pushes for First US-Japan-Australia-India Summit to Curb China's Maritime Expansion

Japan and Australia Positive
"Observing India's Response"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Biden administration in the United States is reportedly considering holding the first Quad (Quad: United States, Japan, Australia, India) summit online, according to Japanese media including the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 7th.

According to reports, the agenda for the four-nation summit is expected to include cooperation to realize a "free and open Indo-Pacific," keeping in mind China's maritime expansion.

Kyodo News reported that if the Quad summit is realized, the focus will likely be on responding to China's maritime expansion, which the Biden administration perceives as its most significant competitor.

The Yomiuri Shimbun also reported that opinions are expected to be exchanged on human rights issues in China, such as in Hong Kong and Xinjiang Uyghur, as well as various COVID-19 measures.

While Quad foreign ministers' meetings were held in September 2019 in New York, USA, and in October last year in Tokyo, Japan, a summit meeting has never been held.

China, which shows strong wariness toward the Quad's cohesion, is expected to strongly oppose the decision to hold the first summit.

The Biden administration is leading the Quad summit with the intention of checking China, but there is also a possibility that the timing of the summit may be delayed due to differences in stance among the countries.

The Sankei Shimbun, citing multiple Japanese government officials, reported that Japan and Australia are positively considering the summit, and if only the Indian government agrees, the Quad summit will take place.

According to Sankei, a Japanese government official said, "We are currently observing India's response."

Kyodo News also analyzed that although the United States has appealed to each country to hold the Quad summit, the response depends on India, which maintains some distance from the other three countries in its China policy.

India has shown a passive stance toward the initial Quad foreign ministers' meetings, as it wants to avoid excessively provoking China.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.