Biden received leaders from Australia, Japan and India at home

The four countries are part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the Quad group, a counterweight to China.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi both held separate meetings with Biden at his Wilmington residence ahead of the start of the summit on Saturday. The same was true of Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday.

Taiwan as the theme

According to the White House, the topic of several of the individual meetings was “the shared concern about China’s use of force and destabilizing activities, including in the South China Sea”. It also talked about maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

The meeting itself is held at Archmere Academy, the high school where Biden himself attended, and lasts four days.

– I don’t think the principal at this school thought I would lead such a meeting, Biden joked to the other heads of state when they gathered for talks and a formal dinner on Saturday.

– No change in strategy

Biden stated that he sees China’s military presence as an attempt to test the region in what is a turbulent time for the country. According to the AP news agency, the president said this when he did not know that the microphone was on after the opening speeches for the summit. He said his administration sees the Chinese actions as “a change in tactics, not a change in strategy.”

At the summit, the countries’ leaders will discuss, among other things, an expansion of cooperation on maritime security and the first joint coast guard exercise.

The Quad group has roots going back to 2027, but Biden was the first to organize summits for the countries’ leaders.