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With COVID-19 case numbers once again rising, and a sluggish vaccine rollout hampering efforts to contain the virus, Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is under intense pressure to deliver a COVID-safe Olympics, writes Craig Mark.
Amid continued Chinese aggression, the Quad’s significance has increased further. As Dr Ashok Sharma writes, the summit-level meeting ascertains that the Quad is not only here to stay but will be a powerful stabilising force in the Indo-Pacific.
Last week’s Quad leaders’ summit saw the United States put soft power back at the centre of regional diplomacy. Former ambassador John McCarthy argues Australia needs to take note.
The first leaders’ level meeting of the Quad countries on Friday establishes the group as an emerging force in the Indo-Pacific. But as Prof. Purnendra Jain argues the US, India, Japan and Australia need to be more than just a bulwark against China’s global ambitions, but exemplars at home of the values they stand for – democracy, freedom and openness.
In the turmoil of the Trump years, US-Japan relations were strained over everything from the cost of maintaining US forces in Japan to North Korea and China. Prof. Purnendra Jain argues the early signs from the Biden administration are promising and leaving Japan a little more confident in the value of its core security alliance.