On September 21, 2024, President Joe Biden of the United States will welcome three foreign leaders participating in the “Quad Dialogue” (Quad), also known as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, in his hometown.
The Quad Dialogue represents an alliance of four democratic countries in the Indo-Pacific region, positioned as a force to counter the economic and military ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party.
The White House disclosed on Thursday that President Biden will host the Quad Dialogue at his private residence in Wilmington, Delaware, stating that the President believes in the power of building personal relationships with the Quad leaders, hence inviting them to his hometown for further engagement.
During the Quad Dialogue, there will be no press conferences or media access, but the National Security Council will hold two media briefings.
Vice President Kamala Harris will not be attending the Quad Dialogue on Saturday, as per the White House.
This informal organization connects the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, forming an alliance of countries across the Pacific and Indian Oceans with shared economic and security interests. The official goal is to uphold a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” Beijing views the Quad Dialogue’s undisclosed priorities as a means of containing China, sparking concerns.
However, as tensions between the U.S. and China persist, the Quad Dialogue has become increasingly significant.
U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns stated in an interview with CNN on Friday that the U.S. and China are in a highly tense competitive relationship but are also seeking cooperation on shared topics like the economy and climate.
Burns revealed that the Biden administration is working to reduce the likelihood of conflicts with Beijing, enhancing military leadership dialogues and communication between top U.S. and Chinese officials, recognizing the importance of maintaining cooperation between the highest leaders of the U.S. and China.
According to Reuters, leaders attending the Quad Dialogue are expected to discuss conflicts between Beijing and neighboring countries in the South China Sea due to territorial disputes, strengthening security cooperation in the Indian Ocean, and tracking illegal fishing vessels operating in the Indo-Pacific waters, most of which are Chinese vessels.
Following the November 5 election, Biden will leave the White House, passing the Oval Office to the next incumbent—potentially Kamala Harris or former President Trump.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a participant in the Quad Dialogue, will also leave office this month.
The Quad Dialogue will also cover topics such as health security, cancer treatment, technology, and infrastructure measures.
In 2004, following a catastrophic tsunami in the Indian Ocean, the four countries formed a “Core Group” to coordinate rescue operations. Then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007 called for the establishment of a more formal Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. That same year, the organization held a meeting during the annual Asia-Pacific Forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Quad countries and Singapore also participated in an expanded version of the Malabar naval exercise held in the Bay of Bengal that year, an exercise typically involving the U.S. and Indian militaries. However, the Quad Dialogue quickly disappeared the following year due to Beijing’s suspicions.
In 2017, with Trump taking office, he accepted Abe’s proposal, causing the situation of the Quad Dialogue to change.
Incidents like the bloody conflicts between China and India along the disputed Himalayan border and China’s punitive trade measures against Australia, the latter proposing an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic first discovered in Wuhan, accelerated the unaligned India’s interest in the Quad Security Dialogue, creating contacts between the U.S. and India.
Under the leadership of the Biden administration, the Quad Dialogue has made some progress. During Biden’s presidency, the four leaders have held five online or face-to-face summits, with the last one taking place during the G7 summit held in Hiroshima, Japan in May 2023.
China criticizes the Quad Dialogue as a mechanism to contain its rise.
Biden vows to compete with China but prevent disagreements from escalating into conflicts. He hopes to engage in dialogue with Chinese leader Xi Jinping before stepping down from office.
Senior officials in the Biden administration attempted to downplay the Quad Dialogue’s anti-Beijing sentiment during a briefing. “It’s well-known this is a partnership, though not aimed at China, seeking alternative approaches for China,” a White House official stated.
Lisa Curtis, an expert on Asian policy at the U.S. think tank the New American Security Center, told Reuters that the possible introduction of the “New Quad Maritime Security Initiative will send a very strong signal to Beijing that its maritime bullying behavior is unacceptable and this like-minded alliance (the Quad) will take coordinated action in response.”
During a summit held in Tokyo in May 2022, the Quad Dialogue leaders issued a statement committing to establish a “free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific,” indicating their intentions to address a range of urgent global challenges.
Among these are critical issues such as climate change, cybersecurity, and sector-specific areas like infrastructure cooperation, which may be a response to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The Belt and Road Initiative claims to aid in global road and power plant construction, but increasing criticisms suggest Beijing is luring poor countries into debt traps.