Biden & Modi to meet in Quad Summit in Japan

During the second in-person Quad summit, US President Joe Biden will travel to Japan for a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to his national security advisor on Wednesday.

Biden has elevated the leadership role of Quad, a Trump Administration initiative that includes Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

So far, there have been three summits, two of which have been online via webinar.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters during the daily White House news conference that “we believe this summit will demonstrate both in substance and vision that democracies can deliver and that these four nations working together will defend and uphold the principles of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

During his time in Tokyo, Biden plans to unveil the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a new and ambitious regional economic initiative aimed at addressing the region’s new economic challenges in the 21st century.

Work on a wide range of issues will be part of this framework, including setting the rules of the digital economy, ensuring secure and resilient supply chains, and managing the energy transition.”

Biden will be joined in person by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the launch of IPEF, as well as by leaders from a number of other Indo-Pacific partners.

President Biden’s Indo-Pacific strategy will be on full display during this trip, and it will show that the United States can simultaneously lead a free world response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and chart a course for effective American leadership and engagement in a region that will define much of the future of the 21st century,” the White House said in a statement.

Before arriving in Japan, Vice President Biden is scheduled to meet with South Korean leaders for a summit.

We’re trying to convey a positive vision for what the world could look like if the democratic and open societies of the world work together to shape the rules of the road, define regional security architecture, and strengthen strong, powerful historic alliances,” Sullivan said.

“That’s why we believe a four-day bilateral meeting with the ROK and Japan through the Quadruple and the Indo-Pacific economic framework will send a powerful message.

“That message, we believe, will be heard far and wide. We believe that Beijing will hear it. The message, however, is not a negative one, and it’s not aimed at any particular country “he stated.

His speech is “targeted to audiences around the world who want to know what American leadership can accomplish when surrounded by allies and like-minded partners.”

As Sullivan put it, “We think we go into this trip with the wind at our back with a strong case to make that we have the ability to deliver against the security and economic challenges of our time.”