President
Joe Biden told Indo-Pacific allies on Saturday that he believes China’s
increasing military assertiveness is an effort to test the region at a
turbulent moment for Beijing.
Biden’s
comments were caught by a hot mic after he and fellow leaders of the so-called
Quad delivered opening remarks before the press at a summit he’s hosting near
his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. He said his administration sees Beijing’s
actions as a “change in tactic, not a change in strategy.”
China
is struggling to pull up its economy that was pummeled by the coronavirus
pandemic and has seen an extended slowdown in industrial activity and real
estate prices as Beijing faces pressure to ramp up spending to stimulate
demand.
“China
continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region, and it’s
true in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, South China, South Asia and
the Taiwan Straits,” Biden told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese,
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
He added, “At least from our perspective, we believe (Chinese President) Xi
Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimize the
turbulence in China’s diplomatic relationships, and he’s also looking to buy
himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China’s
interest.”
Starting
with a trade war that dates back to 2018, China and the United States have
grown at odds over a range of issues, from global security, such as China’s
claims over the South China Sea, to industrial policy on electric vehicle and
solar panel manufacturing.
The
administration has repeatedly spoken out about concerns about Chinese
aggression toward Taiwan and more recently on the frequent clashes between
Chinese and Philippine vessels in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
At
the summit, the leaders agreed to expand the partnership among the Quad
nations’ coast guards to improve interoperability and capabilities, with
Indian, Japanese and Australian personnel sailing on U.S. ships in the region.
But U.S. officials would not say if those transits would include the contested
South China Sea.
China
also has longtime territorial disputes involving other claimants including
Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. U.S. officials worry about China’s
long-stated goals of unifying Taiwan with China’s mainland and the possibility
of war over Taiwan. The self-ruled island democracy is claimed by Beijing as
part of its territory.
The
leaders in a joint declaration issued following their talks expressed “serious
concern about the militarization ... and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in
the South China Sea.”
Biden
last month dispatched his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, to Beijing
for three days of talks with Chinese officials. Sullivan during that visit also
met with Xi.
Both
governments are eager to keep relations on an even keel ahead of a change in
the U.S. presidency in January. And both sides have said they remain committed
to managing the relationship, following up on a meeting between Xi and Biden in
San Francisco last November.
The
concerns about China were raised as Biden showed off a slice of his Delaware
hometown to the leaders of Australia, Japan and India as he hosted what is
likely the last gathering of the Indo-Pacific partnership that has grown in
prominence under his White House tenure.
When
Biden began his presidency he looked to elevate the Quad, which until then had
only met at the foreign minister level, to a leader-level partnership as he
tried to pivot U.S. foreign policy away from conflicts in the Middle East and
toward threats and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific. This weekend’s summit is
the fourth in-person and sixth overall gathering of the leaders since 2021.
“It
will survive way beyond November,” Biden told the leaders.
The
president, who has admitted to an uneven track record as a scholar, also seemed
tickled to get to host a gathering with three world leaders at the school he
attended more than 60 years ago. He welcomed each of the leaders individually
for one-on-one talks at his nearby home before they gathered at the school for
talks and a formal dinner.
“I
don’t think the headmaster of this school thought I’d be presiding over a
meeting like this,” Biden joked to fellow leaders.
Albanese,
Modi and Kishida came for the summit before their appearances at the U.N.
General Assembly in New York next week.
“This
place could not be better suited for my final visit as prime minister,” said
Kishida, who like Biden, is set to soon leave office
Earlier,
the president warmly greeted Kishida when he arrived at the residence on
Saturday morning and gave the prime minister a tour of the property before they
settled into talks.
White
House officials said holding the talks at the president’s house, which sits
near a pond in a wooded area several miles west of downtown, was intended to
give the meetings a more relaxed feel.
Sullivan
described the vibe of Biden’s one-on-one meeting with Albanese, who stopped by
the house on Friday, as “two guys — one at the other guy’s home — talking in
broad strokes about where they see the state of the world.” He said Biden and
Albanese also swapped stories about their political careers.
The
Australian leader remarked that the visit had given him “insight into what in
my view makes you such an extraordinary world leader.”
Modi
also stopped by the house on Saturday to meet with Biden before the leaders
gathered for their joint talks.
“There
cannot be a better place than President Biden’s hometown of Wilmington to celebrate
the 20th anniversary of the Quad,” Modi said.
Biden
and Modi discussed Modi’s recent visits to Russia and Ukraine as well as
economic and security concerns about China. Modi is the most prominent leader
from a nation that maintains a neutral position on Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine.
Biden
and Kishida, who are both stepping away from office amid sliding public
support, count the tightening of security and economic ties among the U.S.,
Japan and South Korea as one of their most significant accomplishments.
The
improved relations between Japan and South Korea, two nations with a deep and
complicated history that have struggled to stay on speaking terms, have come
amid worrying developments in the Pacific, including strides made by North
Korea in its nuclear program and concerns about China.
Biden
during their face-to-face meeting commended Kishida for demonstrating “courage
and conviction in strengthening ties” with South Korea, according to the White
House. They also discussed China, Russia’s war against Ukraine and emerging
technology issues.
The
U.S. and Japan are dealing with a rare moment of tension in the relationship.
Biden, as well as presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, have
opposed a $15 billion bid by Japan’s Nippon Steel to take over American-owned
U.S. Steel.
Biden
administration officials indicated this week that a U.S. government committee’s
formal assessment of the proposed deal has yet to be submitted to the White
House and may not come until after the Nov. 5 election.
The
summit declaration also condemned North Korea’s continued ballistic missile
testing and expressed “deep concern about countries that are deepening military
cooperation with North Korea.” The leaders were expected to discuss the issue
in more depth over dinner.
The
U.S. has publicized intelligence findings that show North Korea and Iran have
provided Russia with ballistic missiles and other weaponry for its war in
Ukraine and that Moscow is in turn tightening its relationship with Pyongyang
and Tehran.
The
leaders announced their four countries are committing $150 million for HPV
vaccines, screening and therapeutics in the Indo-Pacific. Relatively few women
in the region get screened for the virus that causes nearly all cervical
cancers.
U.S.
Navy doctors and nurses will also launch a program to train their Pacific
counterparts on conducting cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccinations.
The
announcement is related to Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative, a long-running
passion project of the president and his wife, Jill Biden, aimed at reducing
cancer deaths. The Bidens’ son Beau died in 2015 at age 46 of brain cancer.