4th Quad Leaders’ Summit Pushes Holistic Approach to Foreign Policy
The DiplomatOn September 21, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India in Wilmington, Delaware, for the fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit. The objective of the Quad is to promote “the free, open, rules-based order, rooted in international law and undaunted by coercion, to bolster security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.” At the time of the summit, one of the Quad leaders, Kishida, was mere days from stepping down; Biden, too, is nearing the end of his presidency. Strategic competition with China may align more substantially with his own personality traits, but, then again, Trump remains someone who is impressed by world leaders that do break rules, so there’s no guarantee that his whims will align with the broader mission of the Quad. Even though the Quad has focused on elements like health and food security, as well as development issues like infrastructure, these are all part of a holistic approach to foreign policy.