Quad team expands maritime security cooperation at Biden's farewell rally via Reuters

By Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom

CLAYMONT, Delaware (Reuters) – The leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States have stepped up joint security measures in trade-rich Asian waters as outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden held his colleagues in the Quad group formed over shared concerns about China.

Biden, joined by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese near his home town of Delaware on Saturday, emphasized the importance of maintaining the Quad, which he sees as a foreign policy success. He will step down after the November 5 US presidential election.

The leaders announced a joint Coast Guard operation next year that will involve personnel from Australia, Japan and India spending time on a US Coast Guard ship. The countries plan to increase military cooperation, officials said. They did not comment on where the coast guard duty would be.

The leaders also plan to expand the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness that was launched two years ago.

While the White House said that the Quad conference was aimed at another country and that Beijing should not have a problem with this plan, Biden started the group meeting with a forum on China. In a joint statement that did not reveal the name of the Chinese government, the leaders condemned “coercive and threatening measures in the South China Sea.”

Analysts said the new maritime security plans would send a message to Beijing and represent another shift in the Quad's emphasis on security issues, reflecting growing concern about China's intentions.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has denounced the Quad gathering as an attempt to encircle Beijing and escalate tensions.

Biden described Beijing as changing tactics but not strategy, while continuing to test the United States in the South and East China seas and the Taiwan Strait.

“We believe that Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and reduce tensions in China's diplomatic relations, and he wants to buy himself a place to work, in my opinion, to pursue China's interests,” Biden said in a statement. official event feed.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, including territory claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. It also claims territories in the East China Sea competing with Japan and Taiwan. China also views democratic Taiwan as its territory.

The leaders' joint statement includes harsh language about North Korea, criticizing its launch of ballistic missiles and “dangerous cyber activity.” A US official said the leaders shared concerns about Russian military aid to North Korea.

The group is stepping up work to provide critical technology and security, including a new open radio access network, to the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia, regions with strong competition from China.

The leaders' health program is aimed at fighting cervical cancer.

Lisa Curtis, an Asia policy expert at the Center for New American Security and a former administration official, said India, which is not part of any military alliance, is worried about the idea that the Quad could attack the Indo-Pacific.

“But I think China's recent maritime aggression may change the equation for India and may cause India to be a little more open to the idea of ​​Quad security cooperation,” he said.

Analysts and officials say Biden's hosting of the Quad is part of efforts to unify the body ahead of his departure from office and that of Kishida, who steps down after next week's leadership contest, and next year's Australian election.

Asked about the staying power of the party, Biden grabbed Modi by the shoulder and said the party will stay here.

Albanese called the Quad's coast guard program “very important” since “the four countries will have personnel maybe on one ship, to improve the cooperation and cooperation that is possible”, according to the document of the press conference he held in Philadelphia.

Before the conference, the Albanians met with Biden at his home and discussed cooperation between the two close alliances in defense and security, including the Indo-Pacific.

The Quad met at the level of the secretary of state under the previous administration of Donald Trump, who is running against Vice President Kamala Harris in November, and enjoyed bipartisan support, as shown by the formation of the congressional Quad Caucus before the conference. Biden elevated the Quad to the level of leaders in 2021.