President Joe Biden will attend the first meeting of leaders of Japan, India and Australia on Friday as he seeks greater cooperation with US allies to counter China’s strength in the region.
Known as the “Quadrilateral Security Dialogue”, representatives of the four member countries have met periodically since its inception in 2007. This was followed by the countries that provided relief to Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami.
But for the first time all four leaders will come together in this meeting.
Mr. Biden himself has stated that he sees cooperation with American allies in the region as the central focus of his strategy to deal with China’s growing economic and military strength. While Mr. Biden has said he wants more civilian relations with Beijing, he has shown no signs of softening Mr. Trump’s confrontational measures on trade, technology and human rights.
White House Press Secretary Jane Saki said, “President Biden has spoken to one of his oldest multilateral programs on the importance of cooperation with our allies and partners.”
He said that leaders are expected to discuss everything from the threat of COVID-19 to economic cooperation and climate policy among nations.
Mr Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will all attend the summit.
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