Facing China’s systemic challenge to the U.S.-led liberal international order, President Biden is right to double down on the so-called Quad partnership.
As Japan’s Kyodo news outlet accurately reported on Sunday, Biden wants to organize a video summit with the leaders of Australia, India, and Japan. While such a summit would be more symbolic than policy-focused, it would send an important early signal that the Biden administration intends to build upon this important new alliance structure. The signal will be an especially valuable boost to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In recent months, Australia has suffered an escalating Chinese trade war. Beijing’s economic campaign is designed to persuade Morrison that he should abandon his support for U.S. security policies in the Asia-Pacific or face economic gloom. Similarly, India has suffered People’s Liberation Army maneuvers designed to degrade Modi’s credibility as a nationalist leader capable of turning his nation into a major geopolitical actor.
