US President Joe Biden will welcome leaders from Australia, India, and Japan to Wilmington, Delaware, for the Quad Leaders Summit, focusing on escalating tensions in Asia’s trade-heavy waters. Top priorities include conflicts in the South China Sea, where China’s territorial disputes with its neighbors have intensified, and enhanced security cooperation in the Indian Ocean. The Quad will also tackle illegal fishing operations, primarily by Chinese fleets, in the Indo-Pacific.
As Biden nears the end of his presidency, which will conclude after the November 5 election, questions loom about the Quad’s future under new US leadership. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is also set to step down soon, adding further uncertainty. However, a senior US official emphasized that the Quad is intended as a lasting, bipartisan institution.
The summit will also cover topics such as health security, cancer treatment, technology, and infrastructure development. Biden’s efforts to manage the US-China relationship, including upcoming talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, are part of a broader strategy to compete with China without escalating to conflict. However, other global issues, like the Middle East crisis and the war in Ukraine, have impacted this focus.
China, which claims nearly the entire South China Sea and territories contested by Japan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asian nations, views the Quad as a potential threat. Analysts suggest that a new Quad maritime security initiative would send a strong message to Beijing regarding its maritime actions. Some experts believe India may become more open to security cooperation within the Quad in response to China’s recent maritime aggression.
