Quad’s First Joint Vision Statement is Significant
Though the joint statement has spoken strongly of support to the ASEAN’s unity and centrality, it is no secret that many countries there do not want to explicitly take sides in the geopolitical contest between the US and China. There is no doubt that most of them welcome the US presence in the region, but at the same time, they are aware that most of them benefit economically from their links with China, which is more likely than not, to be their principal trading partner.
The Quad, which was revived in 2017, was with an eye on Beijing as an informal strategic forum run at an official level, it was rapidly scaled up to the ministerial level thereafter.
The fact that the first ever summit has issued a vision statement speaks for itself.
Announcing the participation of US President Joe Biden in the online Quad meeting, the White House spokeswoman Jan Psaki had earlier this week said that there were expectations that the problems of…