Biden signs off with Quad Summit full of warmth and bonhomie

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr, the 46th President of the united States whose heartiest wish to get re-elected had to be abandoned on account of intense pressure from leading Democratic leaders triggered off by his failing memory, frequent gaffes and disappointing performance in his TV debate with Donald Trump on 27 June, seems to have found peace with himself and signed off the 6th Quad summit of his term in style, with unmistakable warmth.

- SURENDRA KUMAR

He decided to host the Summit in his hometown Delaware and opened his residence to the three Quad leaders, Narendra Modi from India, Fumio Kishida from Japan and Anthony Albanese from Australia, thus adding a memorable personal touch.

Biden succeeded in getting the Wilmington Declaration issued that underlines increasing maritime cooperation under-the first ever Quad at Sea Ship Observer Mission, Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network, Quad Ports of Future partnership and Semiconductor Supply Chain Contingency Network Memorandum of Cooperation. These initiatives unveil a degree of maritime security cooperation which could prove to be the most ambitious agenda for Quad in the coming years. Evidently, he has secured a lasting positive legacy of his one term presidency.

Some critics are terming these Quad initiatives as a de facto security alliance; the Chinese media has already accused the Quad leaders of pursuing a divide and rule strategy and sowing seeds of discord between China and its neighbours.

The Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) was born in 2004 in the aftermath of the devastation caused by a tsunami to the countries of the South East Asian region when the Navies of the US, Japan, India and Australia joined hands to render humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the affected countries. It has come a long way since then. But it remained dormant for more than a decade until it was revived in 2017 with a push from US President Donald Trump who saw it as a means to pushback China's predatory trade and economic policies and increasing assertiveness and aggressiveness towards her neighbours in Indo-Pacific, especially in South China Sea. In March 2019, the Quad Foreign Ministers met in New York and discussed ways and means of reinvigorating it.

It was left to Joe Biden to raise the level of the Quad meetings to summit level.