Together with Australia, Japan and India, the US wants to deepen the Quad group alliance in the Indo-Pacific. Officially, security policy doesn’t matter – but China’s presence in the region plays a decisive role.

US President Joe Biden receives heads of government from India, Japan and Australia at the White House. The so-called four-state meeting was intended to promote closer cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Biden spoke of the goal of a “free and open Indo-Pacific region”. At the first meeting of the four-nation group in March, a common agenda was set and commitments were made to achieve this goal. The US president saw great progress through this cooperation.

The Quad group was formed in 2004 after a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean. But the first virtual meeting of the heads of government of the countries involved only took place about six months ago.

Washington denies security policy background

The White House said the focus of the consultation was the coronavirus pandemic, climate protection and expanding technology and infrastructure. Washington explicitly stated that it was not a security meeting.

But in the past, the US government has expressed concern about China’s growing claims to power in the Indo-Pacific.

And even if none of the four heads of government referred directly to China at the meeting in Washington, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison stressed that the aim of the discourse was to show that democracy can achieve something. There should be no coercion in the region and the sovereign role of all countries must be respected. Any disputes in the region must be resolved in accordance with international law.

Alliance for “Peace and Prosperity”

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga spoke of the “strong solidarity” between the Quad countries. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is confident that prosperity and peace in the Indo-Pacific region can be secured through joint cooperation.