ASIA: Quad Summit Provides Opportunity For Informal Bilateral Talks

The second Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) leaders summit will take place in Tokyo, Japan tomorrow. The official schedule is as follows:

• 09:20 ET 02:20 BST: Quad Leaders 'family photo'
• 09:30 ET 02:30 BST: Quad Leaders’ Summit with President Biden of the United States, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia begins
• 11:30 ET 04:30 BST: Quad Leaders launch the ‘Quad Fellowship’
• 11:45 ET 04:45 BST: Quad Leaders working lunch
• US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has confirmed that US President Joe Biden will engage in informal bilateral talks with the other leaders on the sidelines of the summit.
• The Quad summit will be the first diplomatic engagement of incoming Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
• Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to use the summit to announce a significant increase in the country's defence budget.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely resist calls from President Biden to increase cooperation with the G7 in anti-Russia measures.
• China has called the Quad the 'pacific NATO' and much of the Quad agenda will be concerned with countering Chinese influence in the region.