US, ‘Quad’ Allies Set Partnership to Boost Vaccine Supply in Indo-Pacific
WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden held his first multilateral summit on March 12 with the leaders of Japan, India, and Australia to begin a partnership for the distribution of at least a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Asia to counter China’s influence in the region.
The four leaders made a joint commitment to bring together Indian manufacturing, U.S. technology, Japanese and American financing, and Australian logistics capabilities to address the severe shortage of vaccine supply across the world, particularly in Southeast Asia.
The informal alliance, called the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or “Quad,” held its first leaders level meeting.