White House: "Biden to Attend Quad Summit on the 12th"

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The White House announced the first summit meeting of the anti-China coalition consultative body 'Quad'.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated at a regular briefing on the 9th (local time) that President Joe Biden will attend a virtual meeting with the leaders of Quad participating countries such as Japan, Australia, and India on the 12th.

Press Secretary Psaki explained that this meeting demonstrates the importance President Biden places on allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Quad originated during the Donald Trump administration, but it is one of the few diplomatic policies that the Biden administration has inherited. Previously, the highest level of dialogue was at the foreign minister level, but now consultations between heads of state are taking place, marking a stage where it is expected to develop into an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In particular, since Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are scheduled to visit Japan and South Korea immediately after this summit, there is speculation about the U.S. side's request for South Korea's participation in the 'Quad Plus' and attempts to coordinate South Korea-Japan relations.

Recently, the United States has been emphasizing the importance of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan alliance daily, leading to expectations that it will attempt to improve South Korea-Japan relations in some form.

Since last year, the U.S. has argued that to expand pressure on China, the Quad should be reorganized into a Quad Plus by adding countries such as South Korea and Vietnam to the existing Quad participants.

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