US to join Australia, India, Japan in first-ever Quad summit

The ‘Quad’ meeting comes as US has stressed working with allies in the Indo-Pacific to counter Beijing’s growing might.

US President Joe Biden will hold the first-ever joint talks with the leaders of Australia, India and Japan as part of an emerging four-way alliance seen as fundamental to efforts to balance China’s growing military and economic power. Friday’s virtual meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, also known as the “Quad”, will be one of Biden’s first summits since taking office and comes as his administration has sought to counter China’s military and trade expansion by strengthening alliances. The Quad was launched in 2007 by Japan’s then prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was alarmed at China’s growing assertiveness around Asia.