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according to reports from the british newspaper the guardian and australia's sky news, on september 21 local time, a clip of us president biden "plotting loudly" to deal with the so-called "china test" leaked because he did not realize that the microphone was not turned off at a closed-door meeting of the "quadrilateral security dialogue" (quad) between the united states, japan, india and australia, directly "slapping" the face of the four countries' previous joint statement that was cautious in wording and avoided mentioning china.

this private speech in which biden specifically named china was clearly recorded by multiple foreign media outlets. he declared that china's recent actions, including actions to safeguard its national territorial sovereignty, were "tactical changes, not strategic changes."

biden also told the other three leaders: “china continues toaggressive actionit is testing us across the region, in the south china sea, the east china sea, south asia, and the taiwan strait. it is testing us in every area of ​​our relationship, including economics and technology.”

the guardian said that biden’s remarks may undermine the cautious diplomatic efforts of the four countries. previously, these countries insisted that the quad talks were not only to "balance" china's growing influence, but more importantly to support "development, stability and prosperity in the indo-pacific region." as a result, "china" was mentioned at the opening of the closed-door talks.

biden is caught up in the "hot microphone" controversy (not realizing the microphone was not turned off). screenshot of the video from sky news australia

on september 21, local time, biden hosted the quadrilateral security dialogue (quad) leaders' summit between the united states, japan, india and australia in his hometown of wilmington, delaware. japanese prime minister fumio kishida, indian prime minister modi and australian prime minister albanese attended the summit.

on the same day, us president’s national security advisor sullivan declared at a press conference that quad has nothing to do with or target other countries, and that this dialogue mechanism "is aimed at resolving problems, upholding common principles and supporting a common vision for the region", and stressed that the joint statement would not mention any specific country, including china.

in the joint statement issued by the leaders of the four countries after the summit, china was not mentioned directly, but when talking about the premise for sustainable development and prosperity of the "indo-pacific region", the old tune was repeated, saying that the leaders attending the meeting "expressed serious concern" about the situation in the east china sea and the south china sea.

the joint statement also expressed concern about the exercises in the south china sea, calling them "coercive and intimidating military exercises," but did not specify who initiated the exercises.

in addition, the joint statement claimed that the so-called "south china sea arbitration case" was an "important milestone" and the basis for the peaceful settlement of disputes among all parties. however, china has repeatedly stated its position that the relevant ruling is illegal and invalid.

the guardian said that the four leaders used implicit wording in their statement, and as before, they mainly advocated keeping the indo-pacific region "free and open" and talked about geopolitical "challenges."

at the same time, the report mentioned that the lingering shadow of this quad summit is the us election in november.

as the last "farewell summit" between biden and kishida during their tenures, biden insisted that quad would survive regardless of the political situation.

on september 21, 2024, local time, in delaware, the united states, the united states hosted the "quadrilateral security dialogue" leaders' summit between the united states, japan, india and australia.

when asked by the media whether quad could survive the us election in november, biden said: "much longer than november."

indian prime minister narendra modi also made a similar promise, claiming that quad will continue to exist and that he will host a quad summit in india next year.

however, the british "guardian" pointed out that the outside world has questioned that if former us president and republican presidential candidate trump returns to the white house, quad's future may be uncertain.

china has stated its position on the "quadrilateral mechanism" many times. foreign ministry spokesperson mao ning previously stated that we have always believed that cooperation between countries should conform to the trend of the times of peace and development, and should not form exclusive and closed "small circles". china hopes that relevant countries will do more to enhance security and mutual trust among regional countries and maintain regional peace and stability.

source | observer.com