Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
President United States of America Joe Biden invited leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) allied countries to meet at the White House on Friday (24/9). The meeting discussed five crucial issues.
This meeting takes place amid the chaos of the new security partnership between the US, UK and Australia (AUKUS) which sparked criticism from many other allied countries of Uncle Sam, especially France.
Quad is a strategic partnership between the US, India, Japan and Australia that has existed since 2007.
A senior White House official said today’s meeting of Quad state leaders was aimed at strengthening cooperation in areas including infrastructure, health and cybersecurity.
Even so, the official said the meeting of President Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison would not focus on discussing security issues amid China’s growing influence in Asia-Pacific.
“We will discuss what we call infrastructure-related issues, broader cooperation on health, space science and technology to cyberspace,” the US official said on condition of anonymity.
The office said Biden Cs will discuss more about the procurement of Covid-19 vaccine for the Indo-Pacific region.
The official said the Quad countries had agreed to a commitment to supply one billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in Asia by the end of 2022 in March.
However, that ambition was delayed after India, the world’s biggest vaccine producer, was hit by a new, more severe wave of Covid-19 around April.
The new wave of Covid-19 was exacerbated by the spread of the more virulent Delta variant of the corona virus. This has forced India to stop exporting the Covid-19 vaccine in order to meet its domestic needs first.
US officials said today’s meeting was “historic” and was an opportunity for the four countries to publicly discuss their “modern challenges, hopes and aspirations” regarding the current world geopolitical situation.
“The liaison and strengthening of ties between our four countries is happening right before our eyes. What we are really trying to do is create opportunities for more free, open discussions,” the official said.
Quoted by Reuters, this Quad country meeting took place a week after the US, UK, Australia announced AUKUS. In the new partnership, the US-UK agreed to arm Australia with nuclear submarines and tomahawk missile systems.
Some analysts say that AUKUS is designated as a form of the US and Cs to counter China’s dominance in the Indo-Pacific.
Besides China, France, which is an ally of the US, is also furious with the AUKUS partnership. According to Paris, the US had betrayed and stabbed France in the back with the partnership.
The US official said today’s Quad meeting had “nothing to do” with the AUKUS partnership.
“This is an independent group and has nothing to do with AUKUS which has just been inaugurated. The Quad is an informal group, not discussing security issues,” the official said.
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