Indo-Pacific leaders expand maritime security cooperation at Biden’s farewell summit
Leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States announced plans for new security initiatives in the Indian Ocean, when outgoing President Joe Biden hosted counterparts from the Quad grouping established due to shared concerns about China.
Leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States announced plans for new security initiatives in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, while outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden is hosting counterparts from the Quad grouping established out of shared concerns about China.
Biden welcomed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a four-way meeting near his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, to stress the importance of maintaining the Quad, which he sees as a signature foreign policy achievement, before he leaves office in January.
Senior Biden administration officials told reporters ahead of the meeting that the leaders would announce plans to expand an Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, launched two years ago to include the Indian Ocean region.
The leaders announced a plan for joint coast guard operations that will see Australian, Japanese and Indian personnel spend time on a U.S. Coast Guard vessel. The countries also announced plans for increased military logistics cooperation.
Before the meeting, officials said the leaders would step up work to provide critical and security technologies, including a new open radio access network, to the Pacific islands and Southeast Asia, regions of intense competition with China, Washington’s main strategic competitor.
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