Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
March 12, 2021
Stephen Collinson and Caitlin Hu
'I need you'
Does the world really need another summit?
In normal years, world leaders shuttle between big meetings of the G7, the G20, APEC, ASEAN, the EU, NATO, the Arab League, the AU, the GCC, the OAS, the NALS and the BRICS.
Now it’s time for the Quad.
President Joe Biden will send a clear signal on Friday by making one of his first major forays on the world stage a four-way summit among the leaders of the US, Japan, India and Australia, aka “the Quad.” The White House says Biden is keen to get into international cooperation on the pandemic, trade and the climate crisis. Notice what is missing there? It’s China — the nation that most observers see as the entire rationale for the talks.
Leaders might not want to get too specific on a Zoom call. But the four powers have common concerns about China’s behavior across a range of trade, military, foreign policy and intelligence questions. When they talk about maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, that’s what they mean.
Each Quad member has seen its relations with Beijing slump in tandem with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s increasingly assertive and nationalistic rule. China’s navy and military ambitions are also giving Quad members a strong incentive for cooperation. Last year, Australia joined annual Malabar exercises with the US, Japanese and Indian forces.
The Quad fits a US strategy of building a network of alliances and informal partnerships to counter China’s increasing willingness to wield power globally. But is such an approach effective? The European Union, which recently signed a trade pact with Beijing, shows no sign of wanting to choose between the two great Pacific powers: China and the US. And Japan and Australia are members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership alongside China that was signed last year (the partnership was created after the Trump administration backed out of an earlier group that the Obama administration had hoped would thwart Beijing’s Pacific influence).
In diplomacy, showing up counts. When the next Quad summit rolls around this time next year, expect leaders to meet in person -- where they can more discreetly talk about what’s really on their minds.
Stephen Collinson and Caitlin Hu
'I need you'
In normal years, world leaders shuttle between big meetings of the G7, the G20, APEC, ASEAN, the EU, NATO, the Arab League, the AU, the GCC, the OAS, the NALS and the BRICS.
Now it’s time for the Quad.
President Joe Biden will send a clear signal on Friday by making one of his first major forays on the world stage a four-way summit among the leaders of the US, Japan, India and Australia, aka “the Quad.” The White House says Biden is keen to get into international cooperation on the pandemic, trade and the climate crisis. Notice what is missing there? It’s China — the nation that most observers see as the entire rationale for the talks.
Leaders might not want to get too specific on a Zoom call. But the four powers have common concerns about China’s behavior across a range of trade, military, foreign policy and intelligence questions. When they talk about maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, that’s what they mean.
Each Quad member has seen its relations with Beijing slump in tandem with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s increasingly assertive and nationalistic rule. China’s navy and military ambitions are also giving Quad members a strong incentive for cooperation. Last year, Australia joined annual Malabar exercises with the US, Japanese and Indian forces.
The Quad fits a US strategy of building a network of alliances and informal partnerships to counter China’s increasing willingness to wield power globally. But is such an approach effective? The European Union, which recently signed a trade pact with Beijing, shows no sign of wanting to choose between the two great Pacific powers: China and the US. And Japan and Australia are members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership alongside China that was signed last year (the partnership was created after the Trump administration backed out of an earlier group that the Obama administration had hoped would thwart Beijing’s Pacific influence).
In diplomacy, showing up counts. When the next Quad summit rolls around this time next year, expect leaders to meet in person -- where they can more discreetly talk about what’s really on their minds.