Biden hosts Indo-pacific leaders amid China fears

Meeting with the leaders of India, Australia and Japan, President Joe Biden declared Friday that the U.S. and other members of the Indopacific alliance known as “the Quad” are showing they “know how to get things done” in an increasingly complicated corner of the globe.

Biden and his fellow leaders— Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga — are all grappling with a rising China that Biden has accused of coercive economic practices and unsettling military maneuvering.

They made no direct mention of China as they opened the group’s first ever in-person meeting, but the Pacific power played a big part in the private talks.

Suga raised concerns about China intentions in the South China Sea, where it’s stepped up its military presence in recent years, and the East China Sea, where a long-running dispute about a group of uninhabited islets administered by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing is a point of concern.

Suga also raised concerns about Chinese action towards Taiwan, said Japan’s foreign press secretary Tomoyuki Yoshida. On Thursday, Beijing dispatched 24 jets toward Taiwanese airspace after it submitted its application to join a trans-pacific trade pact. The prime minister “emphasized the importance of the peace and stability in the Taiwan strait,” according to Yoshida.

Biden has repeatedly made a case that the U.S. and likeminded allies need to deliver results on the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and other fundamental matters in what he’s deemed a race between democracies and autocracies.

Morrison and the others seemed to pick up that message as they opened Friday’s summit.

“We are liberal democracies, believe in a world order that favors freedom,” Morrison said. “And we believe in a free and open Indo-pacific, because we know that’s what delivers a strong, stable and prosperous region.

Before the gathering Friday afternoon, Biden sat down with Modi in the Oval Office. He and first lady Jill Biden also met separately with Suga, who is soon to step down from his post.

With Modi by his side, Biden played up ties to India — referencing Vice President Kamala Harris’ Indian heritage and even his own family ties to the subcontinent.

The president also made clear he saw tightening relations with the world’s biggest democracy — one that shares a neighborhood with China and Talibancontrolled Afghanistan — as vital for both sides.

“I’ve long believed the U.s.-india relationship can help us solve an awful lot of global challenges,” Biden said.