Biden Looks Forward To Engaging With QUAD Partners In Indo-Pacific
Mar 05, 2021
QUAD comprises Japan, India, Australia and the United States. The four countries had in 2017 given shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the “Quad” or the Quadrilateral coalition to counter China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.
US President Joe Biden looks forward to engaging with his counterparts in Australia, India andJapan in the Indo-Pacific region as soon as possible, according to a senior administration official.
QUAD comprises Japan, India, Australia and the United States. The four countries had in 2017 given shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the “Quad” or the Quadrilateral coalition to counter China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.
“President Biden has had warm and productive early conversations with his counterparts in Australia, India, and Japan, and looks forward to engaging even more directly with our partners in the Indo-Pacific as soon as possible,” a senior administration official told PTI.
In less than 50 days after being sworn in as the President of the United States, Biden and his administration, including Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan have had unprecedented engagement with their counterparts from Quad countries, the official said.
QUAD leaders were among the top 10 phone calls of Biden with world leaders. He spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on January 27, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia on February 3 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 8. Indo-Pacific region figured prominently in each of these phone calls.
The informal grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the US is called QUAD, a format that is strongly being pushed by the Biden administration.
Courtesy: ET