The US renews its Indo-Pacific message

When Joe Biden, soon after his election as the United States (US) president, convened a virtual meeting of Quad leaders, observers took note — for there was uncertainty over whether the new administration would continue Donald Trump’s tough stance against China. When Mr Biden convened a meeting of Quad in September, that the US was serious about elevating Quad and countering China by investing in partnerships became clearer. Behind Mr Biden’s push was his National Security Council (NSC) — with his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and Indo-Pacific coordinator at NSC, Kurt Campbell. Many in Washington see Mr Campbell as the true architect of Quad in its current incarnation, and also AUKUS.

That is why Mr Campbell’s remarks on Tuesday, at an Australian think-tank event, are significant. He referred to Quad as a partnership forged among top leaders, and among “ocean-going maritime democracies” at the cutting-edge of innovation and prosperity in the region, which will stay. He sent a strong message to China (and other Asian countries worried about American commitment) that the US was neither leaving the Indo-Pacific nor was it in decline. He held that China’s military build-up was accountable for having unnerved people, and drew a fairly direct line between Chinese actions and AUKUS. And he claimed that China respected strength; this, in a way, is a fundamental calculation driving Quad countries — unless China recognises that it has strong adversaries, it may not temper its behaviour. Mr Campbell’s comments show that Mr Biden’s summit with China’s Xi Jinping, which led to apprehensions that the US was seeking to mend ties with Beijing, will not lead to any reset.