As a counterweight to China, Joe Biden seeks to revive the alliance with India, Japan and Australia

US President Joe Biden continues to move his chips in the Indo-Pacific region by receiving the prime ministers of India, Japan and Australia on Friday., following the announcement last week of a stunning military alliance between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

After meeting with Scott Morrison (Australia) , Narendra Modi (India) and Yoshihide Suga (Japan), Biden highlighted ‘Excellent progress’ towards a ‘free and open’ Indo-Pacific, Amid growing concern for China’s military and political prosperity in the region.

“When we met about six months ago, we adopted Commitments to advance our common and positive agenda for a free and open Indo-Pacific. Today I am proud to say that we are making excellent progress.”The US President confirmed.

Biden, who wants to contain the growing influence of China in the region, seeks to revive the “Quadruple Security Dialogue”, also called the “Quartet”, which was defined after the devastating 2004 tsunami and formalized in 2007, but has been inactive for a long time.

Before the meeting and with the Indian prime minister, in the Oval Office, Biden described the day’s program: “Today we will talk about what we can also do to combat the coronavirus, address climate challenges and ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific.”

“Shift to Asia”

When you reactivate a file “quad “, Biden is somehow seeking an “Asia turn” in US foreign policy, a goal that former President Barack Obama (2009-2017) had already achieved.

but then AUKUS إعلانThe deal with the UK and Australia – and its nuclear-powered submarine contract that angered France – is known, Washington wants to present the “Quartet” in the light of consensus.

It is an “informal” and “intimate” summit designed to “develop better communication channels”Senior White House officials told reporters.

They emphasized that there was no “military” target. The Quartet would be “complementary” to other regional initiatives, in response to a question about its association with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Some of the members of this organization which include Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, They fear that a US attack in the region could lead to an escalation with China.

Semiconductors, vaccines, and the weather

According to senior officials, it is expected Quad insists on Friday above all in the economic, environmental and anti-epidemic fields.

The four partners want to launch a file Initiative to protect semiconductor supplies, Those essential electronic components in washing machines, airplanes or smartphones, and industries around the world today difficulties in obtaining it.

They also plan to talk about it 5G technology, cybersecurity, university exchanges, projects in space, fishing and vaccines.

For Washington, The challenge is to overcome the security paradigm and improve the economic position of the United States in Southeast Asia.”Jonathan Stromsmith, a specialist in the area, said in a note published by the Brookings Institution Research Center.

Stromsmith appreciated it The effort to revive the Quartet is a “symbol” of the Biden administration’s approach to China, Presented as competitive when necessary, collaborative when possible, and confrontational when necessary.”

Democratic President He maintains a hard line against China that is more or less comparable to his Republican predecessor, Donald TrumpBut he faces the confrontation with Beijing in a different way.

Biden what? It seeks to overcome the face-to-face intersection of the two superpowers, and hopes to revitalize the game of alliances and encourage traditional partners of the United States to take frank positions against China.

(With information from AFP)

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