‘Quad’ leaders to unveil new military cooperation as they meet in Biden’s hometown

The United States, India, Australia and Japan will roll out new military cooperation efforts including a joint logistical network to let all four countries share space on military aircraft and ships for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.

The security dialogue between the four countries, established during the George W Bush administration and revived during Donald Trump's last year in office, will also result in the countries' leaders announcing a partnership between their respective coast guard services during the summit in Wilmington, Delaware this weekend.

A senior administration official who briefed reporters on plans for the summit between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan said the leaders would unveil plans for a four-country joint exercise carried out among the US Coast Guard, Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Indian and Australian coast guard services.

The official also said the leaders will use the summit to unveil plans to expand the the US-led "Indo-Pacific Partnership for maritime domain awareness" to bring what they described as "even more sophisticated technologies and trainings to South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, so that people can better monitor their waters."

"You'll see us launch the first ever Quad Coast Guard exercise, as well as a Quad logistics network, which allows our militaries to share cargo space on aircraft and vessels for the purposes of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions. You'll also see us redouble our work to provide the region with critical and secure technologies, including new 'Open RAN' pilots in the Pacific Islands and in Southeast Asia," the official said, using an acronym for Radio Access Networks which promote interoperability and standardization of elements between countries.

The four-country dialogue dates back to 2007, when it was initiated by then-Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US Vice President Dick Cheney.

It was revived in 2017 at that year's ASEAN summit, when Abe, then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and US President Donald Trump agreed to restart the alliance as a counterweight to growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Since then, the US has deepened defensive cooperation with each of the countries, including through the AUKUS agreement to provide Australia with nuclear-powered, conventionally armed submarines using American and British technology.

Biden's decision to host the summit in Wilmington continues a long tradition of US presidents using their homes as a tool for personal diplomacy.

Trump famously hosted Abe, who was assassinated in 2022, at his Palm Beach, Florida home early on during his presidency, and then-president George W Bush used his Crawford, Texas ranch as a venue for his first summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin.