The United States 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 contain China’s influence.
The White House has held discussions with other members of Quad, a diplomatic and security initiative between countries, in the past few weeks, according to six people familiar with the talks.
The plan to use vaccine distribution to curb Chinese efforts is among a series of measures that countries hope to announce soon, according to two people familiar with the situation.
President Joe Biden emphasized that he would work more closely with the allies and his efforts were met by growing regional concerns about China’s military and economic aggression.
“The Biden government is making Quad the central dynamic of its policy for Asia,” said a person familiar with the strategy.
Kurt Campbell, the White House policy coordinator for the Indo-Pacific who is leading the effort, held several meetings with ambassadors for the group, which was initially launched in 2004 to respond to the tsunami that devastated Indonesia and parts of Southeast Asia.
A person familiar with the discussions said the strategy under development was more ambitious than vaccines and would have a lasting impact. “The United States is in the final stages of preparing for what it hopes to be an important and bold initiative in the Indo-Pacific,” said the person.
There was “deep recognition” about 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 was also discussing how it could increase maritime cooperation and do more in areas such as cybersecurity.
China has distributed its home vaccines to several countries in the region, including the Philippines. © Rolex Dela Pena / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
China criticized the group, describing it as an Asian “NATO” that would increase tensions in the region.
The Quadruple nations have expressed their plans as focusing on positive initiatives, as opposed to a pure counterweight to China. In particular, however, officials said the impetus for more action was based on the escalation of Chinese aggression.
Tanvi Madan, an India expert at the Brookings Institution think tank, said the focus on vaccines would ease concerns among other Asian countries that the Quad is only meant to contain China.
“If they can show the value for the region, as they did after the tsunami, it is a visible way of transmitting that it is not just about the four countries and it is adding value to the region,” she said.
Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, revived the Quad after it fell in part for political reasons in Australia, Japan and India. Biden wants to significantly boost the initiative, exploiting greater goodwill towards the United States from allies in the region.
“The United States is making a great effort to build on the Quad’s previous efforts and raise it to a level where it will play a decisive role in the region,” said a person familiar with the talks.
Biden made it clear that China is the main US foreign policy problem. In a recent speech, he attacked Beijing for its “economic abuses and coercion” and his government criticized China’s military hostility.
China has become more assertive around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan, but claimed by Beijing, which calls them Diaoyu. He also became involved in Australia’s economic coercion after Canberra called for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.
Relations between India and China plummeted last year after a border clash in which 21 Indian soldiers and at least 4 Chinese died. Since then, India has sought to reduce its economic dependence on China.
The White House did not comment on the plan. A senior Indian official confirmed that talks are underway on an initiative that calls for the wealthiest states to pay for vaccines made in the country to be shipped abroad.
India has a large export-oriented pharmaceutical industry and several local companies have partnered with foreign organizations to produce vaccines. The country exported about 41 million doses of vaccine to emerging markets, as well as to the UN and Covax program, an initiative supported by the World Health Organization to supply vaccines to low and middle income countries.
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