the leaders of the u.s japan india and australia known as quad met at a virtual summit on friday
the move shows the biden administration seeks to make good on its commitment to multilateralism
as well as sending china a signal that the other regional powers are united
until now the quad has consisted of meetings of senior officials as well as a joint naval exercise
last november cited as one of the unprecedented collaborate acts following the quad summit was
their pledge to jointly manufacture and deliver coca-19 vaccines for southeast asian countries
the four leaders did discuss the challenge posed by china
and they made clear that none of them have any illusions about china and with respect to covet
19 these four leaders made a massive joint commitment today with indian manufacturing
u.s technology japanese and american financing and australian logistics capability the quad committed
to delivering up to 1 billion doses to asean the indo-pacific and beyond by the end of 2022.
now for more about the u.s diplomatic and security alliance in northeast asia we connect
to evans revere former u.s assistant secretary for east asian and pacific affairs via skype
welcome to the program thank you for having me great to be with you with president biden's push
for the first ever meeting of leaders so early in his administration you know the washington post
reported that it signals the quad will become a central part of u.s strategy in asia what is
the underlying message regarding china and the implications on the u.s indo-pacific strategy
there's no question that the quad together with the u.s regional alliance partnerships in the
indo-pacific region are now the foundation of u.s strategy in that region and i think
in terms of uh the the path forward for you strategy if you look at the joint statement
that was issued in the aftermath of that quad summit on friday it contained a very important
message the core message is actually a very positive one it was a message of common ideals
and common concerns and common aspirations for the region uh it was not so much focused on uh what
the quad members uh are against but rather what they are for and so in that sense it was
a very positive uh message but quite frankly even though the joint statement did not mention china
specifically there were references to concerns about coercion in the region and possible threats
to security and prosperity in the region and that i think was a signal intended for the chinese uh
it'll be interesting to see how china reacts to that of course uh but once again the the overall
message uh of the quad in that joint statement was a very positive one and i think uh the the region
should be encouraged by that now the vaccine commitment is aimed at strengthening the quad's
political influence in southeast asia where china is now providing its locally produced vaccinations
for free and you know since the vaccine will be produced by india for distribution india's stance
is key here although it's not a full-fledged ally of the u.s how do you think the future quad will
look like since its key determinant is india i think one of the most positive things that came
out of that quad was this idea of cooperating on manufacturing and distributing cobit 19 vaccines
uh there is a serious need uh not only in the indo-pacific region but elsewhere in the world for
these vaccines and i was extremely pleased to see this agreement to cooperate using indian
technology which is fairly sophisticated as well as the support from the united states and other
members of the quad to get this fact seen out there it's a very positive development and it's
a demonstration of the unique capabilities uh that the quad has in terms of uh putting together
uh partnerships uh to to do good in in the region and beyond and india of course is a democracy
it's a major player in the indo-pacific region it has its own uh unique history
uh often complicated with with china so it's very fitting that uh india should be part of the quad
whose goals and ideals uh india shares and i think ultimately as the quad moves forward
uh the uh the path of the uh of the quad going forward uh is going to be a reflection of the
shared interests and concerns not only of india but uh but of everyone and that's a good thing
you know the core issue uniting the group is their common interest in a free
and open indo-pacific including the disputed south china sea now last year china's foreign minister
wang said the quad was part of an effort to create an asian nato do you agree with this
no i would i would strongly disagree with that uh nato is a very unique organization uh
that developed under uh very unique circumstances uh in in the late 1940s
uh i don't think it's necessary or even possible to create a nato-like organization
in the indo-pacific region where countries are so different the cultures are so different
the sense of security threats so different from that which existed uh in in europe in the late 40s
in the early 1950s uh and so i don't think that that's where this is headed at all and once again
i would go back to the to the joint statement coming out of the quad uh which made only glancing
references to to security issues uh the the core message of that joint statement was a desire for
free open inclusive healthy uh indo-pacific region uh anchored by democratic values that's the core
message and that's not a very uh military-focused message but it's a very positive message
the u.s is scheduled their senior officials are scheduled to visit south korea and japan this
week and i want to touch upon the south korea and the u.s they're they they're slated to hold their
first two plus two uh diplomatic and security meeting in five years and so this thursday as well
you know many observers believe that the u.s is to pressure seoul to participate in the quad plus
and it's seen as a move that could you know jeopardize seoul's relationship with china
in terms of economic ties and the north korean denuclearization issue what are your
thoughts on this i think it's a very positive development that the united states and the
republic of korea will meet in this two plus two format i was very troubled that we have gone so
long without such a meeting because uh i've been a participant in these two plus twos in the past
and it really is a foundational element of the alliance and so the fact that we didn't do this
for so long really troubled me greatly so it's good to see uh that this meeting is
taking place i would really avoid using words like pressure when it comes to the dialogue
that's going to be taking place between the united states and the republic of korea
this is not a meeting about pressuring anybody this is a meeting about uh discussing our shared
concerns our shared values and how the these two democracies these two important security partners
uh can cooperate in a whole range of areas uh and so i don't think that the uh the intent or
purpose of this visit is to pressure anybody quite frankly there's going to be a very fruitful uh and
very detailed discussion uh in the two plus two and in their separate uh uh meetings uh
in seoul and i think that's good for the alliance it's a very positive development for the alliance
and i i think there will be largely a meeting of the minds between the two sides all right that's
evans revere former u.s assistant secretary for east asian and pacific affairs and senior fellow
at the brookings institution many thanks for your insights tonight great to be with you thank you