US President Joe Biden will hold first-ever joint talks on Friday with the premiers of India ,Australia, and Japan to enhance a strong four-way alliance as a defence against China and Chinese assertiveness.This will be one of the first summits.The summit ,in the wake of the pandemic would be conducted online in a virtual format.Joe Biden had earlier pledged to bring back US alliances which were in tatters under Donald Trump’s chaotic governance.
“That President Biden has made this one of his earliest multilateral engagements speaks to the importance that we place on close cooperation with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki briefed eporters on Tuesday.As the relationship with China doesn’t seem to get any better, this will mark the first meeting of the leaders of the so-called “Quad”(meaning four).Both Psaki and India had earlier announced the participation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,.The talks are expected to shape around up climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic ,which are considered as two major priorities for Biden.
“The leaders will discuss regional and global issues of shared interest, and exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region,” the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison are expected to touch the topics as promoting maritime security and “ensuring safe, equitable and affordable vaccines” to fight COVID-19 in Asia, the Indian statement read.
China’s “unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and China Sea” and also the state of human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong is also concerning Japan.Earlier the foreign ministers of the Quad had pressed jointly for the restoration of democracy in Myanmar after the military ousted democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1 in a military coup.The meeting is a means of exerting pressure as India and Japan enjoycordial relationships with Myanmar’s military .However, historically China is regarded as its main source of support.The Quad foreign ministers did not make an explicit mention of China as is normally the norm in such situations. After Biden won the presidential election Chinese state media had written articles aimed at India to end the Quad, seeing New Delhi as the most likely rival.
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The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or QSD, also known as the Quad or Asian NATO is an informal strategic forum between the United States, Japan, Australia and India that is maintained by semi-regular summits, information exchanges and military drills between the four associated member countries.
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