Tokyo — Turning to increasingly aggressive China, “quad” leaders from the Indo-Pacific countries of the United States, Japan, India and Australia met on Tuesday morning to discuss cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
The four Indo-Pacific leaders pledged to work together for a free and open region at the beginning of the talks and fight for peace, prosperity and stability in the region, in the UN forecast of catastrophic climate change. I vowed to coordinate the response to deal with it. And energy security.
“This is the difference between democracy and dictatorship. We need to ensure that democracy is achieved,” said US President Joe Biden.
In addition to the morning summit, Biden will also meet for bilateral talks between India and Australia, which has the newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sworn on Monday.
Biden aims to “build on common ground” that he shares with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the talks, despite differences in issues, including Russia, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Modi will also meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and hold a dinner party.
Modi of the summit said India is working towards the quad’s common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, “continuing to strengthen the quad’s image as a force for good.”
U.S. officials said Taiwan was not an official item on the quad agenda, but it became an important topic when four leaders met the day after Biden defeated the tournament and promised U.S. military support to the autonomous islands. It was expected to be. China’s ruling Communist Party, still at war with Taiwan.
India is the only quad member who does not condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has a long-standing relationship with Moscow, which continues to be a major supplier of defense equipment and some oil supplies. India abstained in a UN Security Council vote on this issue, but expressed concern about the killing of civilians in Ukraine.
But quad officials will emphasize a common view of China, which Indo-Pacific countries see as a bigger long-term challenge than Russia.
“The President is very aware that countries have their own history, their own interests and their own outlook, and the idea is to build on commonality,” US officials said. Said.
India has had a close relationship with Washington in recent years and is an important part of the quad group aimed at opposition to Beijing.
After New Delhi signed an agreement on COVID-19 vaccine production, healthcare, renewable energy and financial inclusion, the U.S. has $ 4 billion to India in addition to the previously extended billions of dollars. He said he was considering “investment support”. , And infrastructure.
India has also joined the United States and 11 other countries in US-led economic negotiations called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) for Prosperity.
Reuters contributed to this report.
follow
Melanie is an Australian-based reporter and editor who covers the world news. She has a background in environmental research.