Quad leaders, meeting in person for first time, are seen to plan several initiatives for confronting China
- US President Joe Biden and prime ministers of Australia, India and Japan expected to announce measures on vaccines, climate change and 5G
- By not moderating its assertive military posture in Indo-Pacific, Beijing may be driving greater regional interest in the group, analysts say
The leaders of a new military alliance that the Chinese government has lashed out against in recent months are gathering in Washington and, analysts say, Beijing’s reactions may be undermining its own interests by pushing the Quad into closer military coordination with other US allies.
As several analysts at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) noted in a discussion on Wednesday, those initiatives face daunting challenges, including Beijing‘s control of many raw materials needed for vaccines and the deep business ties that private companies in each of the four countries have in China.
But in the near term at least, the Quad leaders may find more strength on the military front because China is showing no sign of moderating its more assertive military posture, and the more the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) flexes its muscle in the Indo-Pacific region, the more other countries aligned with Quad members will be inclined to cooperate with the group.
“China’s becoming more and more assertive and challenging many of our allies and partners in the region,” said Bonnie Lin, director of the China Power Project at CSIS.