Eyeing China, Quad leaders expand joint maritime security operations in Indo-Pacific

Summit of leaders from the US, Australia, India and Japan being watched for how the four respond to the more militarily assertive Beijing

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Left to right: Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Quad leaders summit at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware, on Saturday. Photo: AP

Robert DelaneyandKhushboo Razdanin Washington

Published: 5:00pm, 21 Sep 2024Updated: 7:49am, 22 Sep 2024

The leaders of the US, Australia, India and Japan announced on Saturday an expansion of their joint maritime security operations into the Indian Ocean and closer coastguard integration throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Meeting US President Joe Biden in his home state of Delaware for the fourth in-person summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will be showing their resolve to bolster a partnership that Beijing has dismissed.

Against a backdrop of rising tensions in the South and East China seas, particularly between Chinese and Philippine vessels, deliverables from the summit are being watched closely for how much the four countries intend to push back against a more militarily assertive China.

While none of the leaders referenced China directly in remarks meant for the media, several news outlets reporting from the venue that Biden was apparently heard telling the others, in an audio feed that was not meant for public consumption, that Beijing was “testing” Quad members.

“We believe [Chinese President] Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimize the turbulence in China,” and that Xi is “looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China’s interest,” Biden was cited by Bloomberg as saying on a hot mic.

“China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region” on several fronts, “including on economic and technology issues,” Biden added, according to that report. “At the same time, we believe intense competition requires intense diplomacy.”