President Biden to meet virtually with 'the Quad'

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US President Joe Biden will meet virtually with Prime Minster Scott Morrison on Saturday morning Australian time to discuss commitments in the Indo-Pacific.

The meeting of ‘the Quad’ bloc will include Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The leaders are expected to discuss the global COVID-19 response, economic cooperation, the climate crisis and the rise of China.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the Indo-Pacific region is a high priority for President Biden.

What is the Quad and can it counter China’s rise?

India, Australia, Japan and the US are stepping up defence ties, but could strategic differences hinder efforts to counter China’s growing might?

By
Zaheena Rasheed
25 Nov 2020

The navies of Australia, India, Japan and the United States held their biggest naval drills this month, sending warships, submarines and aircraft to the Indian Ocean, in a move analysts said signalled the four countries’ seriousness in countering China’s military and political influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

There was little comment from officials in Beijing, but Chinese state media condemned the Malabar naval exercises, with the Global Times newspaper calling the drills a risk to regional stability.

Quad bloc a ‘bulwark against Chinese aggression’ as military superpower tests boundaries
10/03/2021|4min

China’s military power is set to increase exponentially over the next four years as surrounding nation’s scramble to form alliances which stand in opposition to the Asian superpower, according to Asia Correspondent Adrian Brown.

The Quad bloc is one such alliance which was originally formed as a relief response to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and recently prioritised by America.

US President Joe Biden will meet virtually this weekend with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Mr Brown said, “China is very worried about the growing strength of the quad and in fact just a few months ago there were editorials in state-controlled media warning India not to participate in the quad”.

Border spats between India and China have increased in frequency of late, resulting in a number of fatalities on both sides.

According to Mr Brown, a US commander in the region warned the balance of military power is tilted in China’s favour with the nation set to own three aircraft carriers and have doubled its nuclear capability by 2025.

“At the National People’s Congress China has announced it is going to be increasing its military spending by almost seven per cent," Mr Brown told Sky News.

He said the quad has been set up as a “bulwark against China” with the nations participating in the alliance attempting to work together to contain what they see as “China’s aggressive postures” in relation to the South China Sea.

'China will be livid': Quad Bloc meeting a diplomatic powerplay
10/03/2021|3min

Sky News US correspondent Michael Ware lauds the return of “nuanced” diplomatic pressure as President Biden prepares to meet virtually with PM Morrison and leaders of ‘the Quad’ bloc in the Indo-Pacific.

“This is in one sense in real time us watching American president Joe Biden take the ball right up to China with Australia right there with him waiting for the offload”, Mr Ware said.

While the Quad bloc was formed as a relief response to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Mr Ware maintained this union and virtual meeting is about subduing Chinese military movement in the Indo-Pacific.

“This is all designed to counter Chinese military might and activity in the Indo-Pacific region.

“For Australian leaders to be rejoined formally with the other leaders of the ‘Quad four” that’s really a poke in the eye to China and we know exactly that we’re doing it.”

Mr Ware also said President Biden is committed to a firm stance against China in the Indo-Pacific, and regards this meeting of the Bloc as a “nuanced” diplomatic powerplay that will send a clear message to the Chinese government.

Beijing 'sabre-rattling' prompts extraordinary meeting of Quad bloc
14/03/2021|2min

China’s “sabre-rattling” has provoked a meeting of the Quad bloc, an alliance between Japan, India, Australia and the United States, who will meet this weekend to discuss issues in the region.

US President Joe Biden will meet virtually this weekend with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Mr Morrison said the meeting would address security and maritime matters in addition to the environment, climate and COVID-19 response in the region.

“It’s a huge signal that these four countries … want to talk through these issues around China,” Mr Morrow said.

“In all four of these nations China’s soft power has collapsed. Every poll says people don’t trust China.”

'Australia is in the enemy camp' with China: Brown
16/03/2021|4min

Australia’s involvement with the Quad bloc has seen them become by default an “enemy of China”, according to Asia correspondent Adrian Brown.

“I think there is no doubt China regards anyone who’s a member of the quad as being an enemy. The problem for Australia is this: it needs the United Sates for security, it needs China for trade. But in the eyes of China, Australia is now very much in the enemy camp”, he said.

As China looks to negotiate its litany of discrepancies with the United States and its allies, Mr Brown said China will not be rushing into any “long-term” agreements just yet.

“As to the sort of outlook China takes to all of this, I think it is taking the long-term view. It knows four years from now Joe Biden is, in all likelihood, not going to be in the White House.

“They do not want to enter into any long-term agreements or pacts with the United States, which is why they are very wary and in a sense are biding their time with Biden.

“President Xi Jinping does not have to worry about re-election 10 years from now, in all likelihood he will still be there -Joe Biden will not.

“So what China wants and it is not going to get in the short term is predictability in its relationship with the United States.”

Mr Brown also discussed the situation in Myanmar – which has escalated to borderline “civil war.”

“The junta’s actions have had the effects of unifying the disparate groups in China, the various rebel armies, the various opposition groups and they now have one common enemy, and that is the junta," he said.

“Many in the opposition say that China by failing to outwardly condemn the actions of the Junta, by failing to condemn the bloodshed, its silence of the matter is being seen as almost tacit support for the military.

“The last thing China wants at the moment is instability on its borders.”