Washington, September 20 (IANS) Ahead of the Quad leaders’ meeting on Saturday, the US said that the group of India, Australia, Japan and the US is focusing less on a comprehensive security cooperation, but is increasing cooperation in maritime security. Along with this, bilateral and multilateral defense cooperation has also increased between these countries.
Senior White House official Mira Rapp-Hopper said at a press conference held before the meeting on Thursday that the leaders of the group may discuss the developments in Bangladesh and focus on each neighboring country in the region.
US President Joe Biden is hosting a meeting with foreign leaders for the first time in his hometown of Wilmington. In this regard, Rapp-Hooper said that this shows how much the President personally takes interest in the Quad.
Biden will also hold separate bilateral meetings with the Quad leaders. This meeting of the Quad leaders was to be hosted by India, but due to schedule related problems, India and the US decided to switch their turns. This year the US will host the summit and next year India will.
Rapp-Hooper, a senior official in Biden’s National Security Council, also said the US sees India “as a leader within the Quad.”
Asked if member countries should do more on security cooperation, Rapp-Hooper said, “There’s incredible defense cooperation between the US and Australia, the US and Japan, the US and India, and there’s growing cooperation between these countries as well.”
“There are a number of other activities within the Quad that we participate in, such as the annual Malabar exercise, which involves all four of our countries,” he said.
–IANS
RK/CBT
