President Biden showed off a slice of his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, to the leaders of Australia, Japan and India, hosting what is likely the last meeting of the Indo-Pacific partnership that has grown in importance during his tenure in the White House.
When Biden began his presidency, he wanted to elevate the so-called Quad, which until then had only met at the level of foreign ministers, to a leadership-level partnership as he sought to redirect US foreign policy of conflicts in the Middle East And to threats and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific. This weekend’s summit is the fourth physical and sixth overall meeting of leaders since 2021.
“It will be long after November,” Biden said as leaders gathered at Archmere Academy, his high school in nearby Claymont, for joint talks.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Biden hosts leaders at his Wilmington home and high school
The president, who has admitted to a mixed track record as a scientist, also seemed delighted to host a gathering of three world leaders at the school he attended more than 60 years ago. He welcomed each of the leaders individually for one-on-one conversations at his nearby home before they gathered at the school for talks and a formal dinner.
“I don’t think the principal of this school would have thought I would be chairing a meeting like this,” Biden joked to his fellow leaders.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came to the summit ahead of their appearance at the UN General Assembly in New York next week.
“This place could not have been more appropriate for my final visit as prime minister,” said Kishida, who, like Biden, will soon step down.
Earlier, the President had warmly greeted Kishida when he arrived at the residence on Saturday morning and gave the prime minister a tour of the grounds before they began their talks. Kishida thanked Biden at the start of their meeting, according to the prime minister’s office, for inviting him to meet at his home.
White House officials said the talks were held at the president’s home, which is located near a pond in a wooded area a few miles west of downtown, and were intended to be more relaxed.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan described the atmosphere of Biden’s one on one meeting with Albanianwho stopped by the house on Friday, while “two guests — one at the other guest’s house — talked broadly about how they see the state of the world.” He said Biden and Albanese also swapped stories about their political careers.
The Australian leader noted that the visit had given him “an insight into what I think makes you such an extraordinary world leader.”
Modi also dropped by the house on Saturday to meet Biden before the leaders gathered for their joint talks in Archmere.
“There is no better place than President Biden’s birthplace, Wilmington, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Quad,” Modi said.
Reporters and photographers were barred from covering Biden’s individual meetings with the leaders, and Biden does not plan to hold a news conference — a question-and-answer format customary at such international summits.
What Biden hopes to achieve with the summit
As part of the summit, leaders are expected to announce new initiatives to strengthen maritime security in the region — with enhanced Coast Guard cooperation through the Pacific and Indian Oceans — and improved cooperation on humanitarian response missions. The measures are intended to counter an increasingly assertive China.
Mr Biden and Mr Modi were due to discuss Mr Modi’s recent visits to Russia and Ukraine, as well as economic and security concerns about China. Mr Modi is the most prominent leader of a country to take a neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sullivan said “countries like India must support the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity” and that “any country, anywhere, must refrain from providing input to the Russian war machine.”
The meeting was also an opportunity for Biden and Japanese President Kishida to say goodbye to each other.
Biden and Kishida, who are both stepping down amid declining public support, see the strengthening of security and economic ties between the U.S., Japan and South Korea as one of their most significant achievements. The two leaders sat down for their wide-ranging, one-on-one talks on Saturday morning.
The improved relations between Japan and South Korea, two countries with long and complicated histories that have struggled to stay on speaking terms, have come amid worrying developments in the Pacific, including North Korea’s progress with its nuclear program and China’s growing assertiveness.
Biden praised Kishida for showing “courage and conviction in strengthening ties” with South Korea, the White House said. They also discussed China’s “coercive and destabilizing activities” in the Pacific, Russia’s war on Ukraine and emerging technology issues.
Tension surrounding proposed takeover of US Steel by Nippon Steel
The US and Japan are negotiating a rare moment of tension in their relationship. Mr Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the two candidates for the 2024 presidential election, have voiced their opposition a $15 billion bid from Japan’s Nippon Steel to take over the American company US Steel.
Biden administration officials indicated this week that a formal review of the proposed deal by a U.S. government committee has not yet been submitted to the White House and may not happen until after the Nov. 5 election.
Sullivan pushed back against speculation that the expected timing of the report could suggest Biden is having second thoughts about his opposition to the deal.
The Biden administration promised that the leaders would issue a joint statement with the strongest language ever on China and North Korea that the four countries would have to agree on.
The White House said leaders will roll out a new partnership later Saturday aimed at reducing cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific. The announcement is tied 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 of brain cancer in 2015 at age 46.
As Biden’s term draws to a close, the White House also celebrated the formation of a “Quad Caucus,” a bicameral Congressional body designed to ensure the sustainability of the partnership regardless of the outcome of the November election.
