US President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic on Saturday telling the leaders of Australia, India, and Japan that an aggressive China is “testing us,” in remarks that risked undercutting a summit declaration that carefully avoided mentioning Beijing by name.
The comments came as Biden opened a farewell summit in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region,” Biden was heard in what were supposed to be behind-closed-doors remarks to the so-called “Quad”.
Biden said that while Chinese President Xi Jinping was focusing on “domestic economic challenges” he was also “looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China’s interest”.
Blunder before Modi, Kishida, Albanese risks undermining summit declaration that avoided naming Beijing
But he insisted that recent “intense efforts” by Washington to reduce tensions, including a call with Xi in April, were helping to prevent conflict.
The hot mic blunder risked undermining careful diplomatic efforts by all four countries during the summit to insist that their grouping is about more than just providing a counterweight to China.
In their joint statement after the summit, the four leaders made no direct mention of China, even as they expressed concern over tensions on its borders.
“We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas,” their declaration said.
The leaders condemned “coercive and intimidating manoeuvers” in the South China Sea but without saying whose manoeuvers.
Disputed islands in the East China Sea have meanwhile long been a source of tensions between Japan and China.
Instead, the leaders used veiled statements, as they have on previous occasions, about keeping the region “free and open” and talking about geopolitical “challenges”.
“While challenges will come, the world will change because the Quad is here to stay,” Biden told the leaders in his public remarks before journalists were ushered out.
Asked by reporters if the Quad would make it past the Nov 5 election, Biden replied: “Way beyond November. Way beyond November.”
