CNN —
President Joe Biden is convening the leaders of Australia, India and Japan in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, for a Quad summit this weekend, aiming to put the final touches on an alliance he hopes will last beyond his presidency.
The current U.S.-Japan alliance is entering a new era as half of its leadership — Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida — soon step down. As President Biden prepares to hand over to a new administration, he is looking to turn to allies like the Quad to burnish his foreign policy achievements and provide a final diplomatic push against China’s growing influence.
Deliverables are expected to include the Quad’s first joint coast guard exercise, expanded efforts aimed in part at monitoring illegal fishing, and cooperation to reduce cervical cancer rates in the Indo-Pacific, administration officials said.
“Welcome to the borders of Wilmington, Delaware. I’m so glad you’re here in my hometown and seeing where I grew up,” Biden said in opening remarks at the summit.
Biden stressed the importance of “democracy” and said the Quad “will continue to exist.”
“We are a democracy. We are a democracy that knows how to get things done,” Biden said. “There will be challenges, but the world will be changed, because I believe the Quad is here to stay. It’s here to stay.”
While officials have expressed confidence in the Quad’s staying power, questions of whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump will lead the next administration and what approach they will take toward allies and China could loom large as the four leaders meet over the weekend to chart their agenda.
“Of course, we are four major democracies and political change is naturally baked in,” said a senior administration official previewing the summit. “We believe the Quad has buy-in across our entire system and at all levels of government.”
The Quad, which Biden elevated to summit level early in his presidency, is a key pillar of his Indo-Pacific strategy. China and its aggressive moves in the South China Sea are expected to be a major topic on the agenda at Saturday’s summit, U.S. officials said.
John Kirby, the White House’s national security and communications adviser, said Wednesday he expected the two leaders to discuss “remaining challenges in the region, for example from China’s aggressive military actions, unfair trade practices and tensions across the Taiwan Strait.”
A senior administration official said the leaders’ joint statement would contain “the strongest language in Quad history, particularly on the South China Sea and North Korea.”
The leaders are expected to announce a series of milestones, including the first-ever joint coast guard exercise among the four nations, according to administration officials. A U.S. Coast Guard ship will lead the way, with coast guards from Australia, Japan and India joining for a period of time. Each nation will take turns conducting similar drills.
A senior administration official said China should not see the move as a “red flag” and insisted the coast guard’s mission is “focused on strengthening regional peace and stability and the continuity of international law.”
The leaders will announce that the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, which helps countries monitor illegal fishing and other illicit activity in their waters, will be expanded to the Indian Ocean and provide partners with more advanced technology and training.
The two countries will also launch a logistics network that will allow U.S. forces to share cargo space on aircraft and ships used in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. The partnership will also roll out a new open radio access network pilot project in the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia.
The president will likely push to establish a bipartisan Quad Caucus in both the House and Senate to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to this partnership, which the Trump Administration has also prioritized at the foreign minister level.
But the president’s most personal announcement will likely focus on new joint efforts to fight cancer: Quad leaders will launch a new partnership aimed at reducing cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific region, a global expansion of the president’s signature “Cancer Moonshot” initiative, U.S. officials said.
This is expected to include efforts to increase cervical cancer screening in the region and increase vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), the leading cause of cervical cancer.
The Cancer Moonshot is one of the White House’s most personal efforts. The cancer-fighting program, launched when Biden was vice president after his son Beau died of brain cancer, is getting a funding boost in 2022 and aims to bolster cutting-edge cancer research.
The move came as the president sought to add a personal touch to his final meetings with Foreign Minister Kishida, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The president will host the leaders in Wilmington, a city of about 71,000 people about 100 miles north of Washington, D.C. India was originally scheduled to host this year’s Quad summit but agreed to swap roles as Biden’s term in office dwindles. The leaders are meeting ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week.
Biden is scheduled to meet privately with leaders over the two days at his private residence, where he often spends weekend getaways. He will meet with Prime Minister Albanese on Friday and with Foreign Minister Kishida and Prime Minister Modi on Saturday.
Those one-on-one talks are expected to be off-limits to reporters, a departure from most bilateral presidential meetings, where reporters typically have the opportunity to observe at least some of the action.
The Quad’s main meeting will be held at Archmere Academy, the private Catholic school Biden attended, in Claymont, Delaware. The gathering will include leadership-level meetings, a Cancer Moonshot event and private dinners.
The president stopped by Archmere High School on Friday evening to greet members of the school’s football team, of which Biden played as a member. When asked by a student what it’s like to be president, Biden replied, “A little bit like being class president. No, I’m kidding.”
Several US presidents have used their homes to foster personal relationships with world leaders: In 1983, President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan hosted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at their ranch in California’s Santa Ynez Mountains.
Rain on the day of the visit cancelled plans for horseback riding, a hobby the couple share, but the royal family and the Reagans still spent time together over a Mexican lunch of enchiladas and tacos.
President George W. Bush hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin twice: once at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2001 and again in 2007 at his family’s Walker’s Point estate in Kennebunkport, Maine. During those meetings, the two leaders, along with former President George H.W. Bush, went on a fishing trip between talks about a missile defense system.
During his presidency, Trump has hosted several world leaders at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. A visit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, followed by a day of golf, turned into a real-time diplomatic strategy session after news of an unexpected missile launch by North Korea came in the middle of dinner at the private club.
By the light of the aide’s cell phone, the two pored over the documents together on a dimly lit patio in front of club members and guests.
As Biden turns his attention to his own local diplomacy this weekend, Kirby said he is focused on “showcasing him locally to the places and communities that have shaped so much of him as a public servant and a leader.”
“It also reflects his belief that foreign policy, like politics, is personal,” he added.
This story has been updated with additional reports.
