Open Indo-Pacific essential for all, says Biden

PRESIDENT Joe Biden said on Friday that a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific is essential' to all and the US was committed to working with its partners and allies in the region to achieve stability as he virtually met Quad leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the first Summit of the bloc.

In his opening remarks, Biden also described Quad – involving the US, India, Australia and Japan - as a new mechanism to enhance cooperation and raise mutual ambition as the member states address accelerating climate change.

‘A free and open Indo-Pacific is essential to each of our futures, our countries,' Biden told the top leaders of the Quadrilateral alliance, which has been often projected in the Chinese official media as an alliance against China's rise.

‘This is a group particularly important because it is dedicated to the practical solutions and concrete results,' he said at the virtual summit, which is the first conclave of the top leaders of the Quad.

‘We know our commitments...Our region is governed by international law, committed to all the universal values and free from coercion but I am optimistic about our prospect,' he said, in an apparent reference to China which is flexing its muscles in the strategically vital region.

‘The Quad is going to be vital in our cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and I look forward to looking closely to working with all of you in the coming years,' Biden told the Quad leaders as he requested Prime Minister Modi to speak.

‘It's great to see you, Biden,' who is attending the summit less than two months after he took charge as US President, told Prime Minister Modi.