The US is working with Japan, India and Australia to develop a plan to distribute Covid-19 vaccines to countries in Asia as part of a broader strategy to counter China’s influence.
The White House has held talks with other members of the Quad in recent weeks, a diplomatic and security initiative between the countries, according to six people familiar with the talks.
According to two people familiar with the situation, the plan is to use the distribution of vaccines to counter Chinese efforts.
President Joe Biden has stressed that he will work more closely with allies and that his efforts are being met by growing regional concern over China’s military and economic aggression.
“The Biden government is making the Quad the core dynamics of its Asia policy,” someone familiar with the strategy said.
Kurt Campbell, the head of the White House’s Indian-Pacific Policy Coordinator, held several meetings with the group’s ambassadors, initially launched in 2004 to respond to the tsunami that hit Indonesia and parts of Southeast -Asia destroyed. .
China has distributed its homemade vaccines to a number of countries in the region, including the Philippines © Rolex Dela Pena / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
One person familiar with the discussions said that the strategy being developed is more ambitious than vaccines and that it will have a lasting impact. “The US is in the final stages of preparation for what they hope to be a major, daring initiative in the Indo-Pacific,” the person said.
There was ‘deep recognition’ of the need to respond to pan-national problems, the person added, including the pandemic and climate change, as well as regional security issues. The Quad also discussed how it can promote maritime cooperation and do more in areas such as cyber security.
China criticized the grouping, describing it as an Asian “NATO” that would increase tensions in the region.
The Quad countries based their plans on focusing on positive initiatives as opposed to a pure counterweight against China. Privately, however, officials said the incentive for more action is based on increasing Chinese aggression.
Tanvi Madan, an expert in India at the Brookings Institution brainstorm, said the focus on vaccines would alleviate concerns among other Asian countries that the Quad is only about China.
“If they can show the value to the region, just like after the tsunami, it’s a visible way to show that it’s not just about the four countries and that it’s a value addition for the region,” he said. she said.
Former United States President Donald Trump has revived the Quad after falling into disrepair in Australia, Japan and India in part for political reasons. Biden wants to significantly increase the initiative and harness greater benevolence towards the US from allies in the region.
“The US is putting a lot of pressure to build on previous efforts in the Quad and to increase it to a decisive role in the region,” said the person familiar with the negotiations.
Biden has made it clear that China is the biggest U.S. foreign policy issue. In a recent speech, he attacked Beijing for his “economic abuse and coercion”, and his government criticized China’s military hostility.
China has become more assertive around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which is ruled by Japan but claimed by Beijing, which they call the Diaoyu. It is also engaging in economic coercion from Australia after Canberra asked for an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus.
Relations between India and China declined last year after a border collision in which 21 Indian soldiers and at least 4 Chinese soldiers died. India has since tried to reduce its economic dependence on China.
The White House did not comment on the plan. A senior Indian official has confirmed that talks have been held on an initiative that is expected to pay richer states for vaccines sent abroad in the country.
India has a large export-oriented pharmaceutical industry and several local companies have partnered with overseas organizations to manufacture vaccines. The country has exported about 41 million doses of vaccines to emerging markets, as well as the UN and the Covax program, an initiative supported by the World Health Organization to deliver low- and middle-income countries.
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