“Free and open” has become code for expressing worry about swelling Chinese economic, diplomatic and military presence — including threats to vital international sea lanes. Biden, who often talks about democracies needing to prove their capability in an age of powerful autocracies in Russia and China, sought to show that the Quad was about action. India said it would export 8 million one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines by the end of next month. On another key priority for Biden, the Quad leaders said the four nations would all make “ambitious” announcements at the upcoming Glasgow climate summit with an aim of bringing the warming planet to net-zero emissions by 2050. US officials said they did not see the Quad as a military alliance even as they sought to broaden cooperation.

Source: Taipei Times September 25, 2021 15:56 UTC